


The Rebellion

by TrueColours



Series: Raven's Roost [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Getting Together, Raven's Roost, Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-22
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-08 03:57:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 40,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13450041
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrueColours/pseuds/TrueColours
Summary: Magnus knocks down a bully in the street. A week later he's leading his city in open rebellion. A story of the revolution at Raven's Roost.





	1. The Governor

**Author's Note:**

> I was surprised when we first learned Magnus' backstory, because my interpretation of his character was that while he would 100% show up for a revolution, he wasn't the kind of strategist who would lead one. So I asked myself how the revolution had happened, and this fic was my answer. 
> 
> Many thanks to wherehaveallthecowboysgone on AO3 and thomas-is-my-name on Tumblr, who unstuck this fic multiple times and helped me work out some of the best scenes. 
> 
> Updates Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Magnus was walking towards the marketplace, his head full of Julia Waxman. They’d spent the whole morning together in the shop, talking while they worked. She’d told him about some music she was writing and asked his opinion, and then they’d talked about their favourite songs, and when she was done with her share of the work, she’d fetched her mandolin from her room so that she could keep him company while she practised. They’d ended up singing together while Magnus worked the plane in time, running through every song they could think of and even making up a few verses of their own. Magnus had mostly kept his eyes on his work, because every time he glanced at her it felt like the breath had been knocked out of him. 

He’d been in love before, jealous and awkward and unable to act anything but stupidly around the person he liked. This wasn’t like that. When he talked to Julia he said things that were true, things that would have come out wrong if he’d tried to say them around anyone else. _That music makes me think of running under pine trees. It makes me feel the way this wood smells. I hope the school room’ll feel airier with all this blond pine in it. I always felt so awkward at school, like I was too big for the place. Don’t want the kids to feel like that._ When he got done talking to her, he wanted to make other people feel as happy as he felt. He was more patient. He was more thorough at his work. He even breathed easier. 

A bust of a woman with raven’s wings looked down from the arch that led into the marketplace.

‘I’m wild about her,’ Magnus told the statue. ‘Gods, I hardly know myself when I’m around her. If I can carry on feeling this way I swear I’ll be happy for the rest of my life.’ 

He conducted his business at the merchants’ office, putting in an order for lumber to be delivered in the spring caravan. That done, he began to stump back towards the arch, but changed his mind half-way, swerving towards the sweet shop. He didn’t have a lot of change in his pocket – another tax introduced last month meant another hike in prices meant fewer people buying furniture – but he had enough for a bag of candy. 

As he reached the shop, a young girl burst out of the door, laughing, and almost collided with a passing group of adults. She swerved at the last moment, not bothering to look up or apologise, the way children often did when absorbed in their own games. And the man in the lead of the group grabbed her by the hair and pulled her off balance, throwing her into a crumpled heap on the ground. She was more in his way now than she would have been if he had let her run off. The girl sat up and began to howl. 

If Magnus had seen a father striking his child he might have been a little more circumspect. You never knew what trouble you might cause later if you interfered now. But it was obvious that this man and child were strangers. She was in plain woollens; he was in black velvet. And she clearly wasn’t used to being hit. She was crying as though her heart would break. 

Magnus crossed the distance between them in three quick strides, putting himself between the man and girl and shoving the man solidly in the chest. It wasn’t a hard blow, but the man’s fine shoe had no grip to it and turned on the cobbles, and he went sprawling. 

‘You should be ashamed of yourself,’ Magnus said. 

A few passers-by were stopping to look. Magnus ignored them and the man in velvet and crouched down to the girl’s level. 

‘Are you alright, sweetheart?’ he asked, in a much softer voice. The girl sniffed and shook her head. Magnus petted her head, which he was sure must still be stinging, and fished in his pocket for one of the coins he’d had earmarked for sweets. 

‘Here you go,’ he said. ‘Cheer up. Be sure to tell your mother that you took a fall, and who pushed you.’

It was amazing how quickly children could go from crying to beaming when you gave them a present. 

‘I will, sir. Thank you!’ the girl said, and ran away. Magnus decided that she couldn’t have been that badly hurt. He smiled as he watched her go, then turned to see that the man who had pushed her hadn’t slunk away like he’d expected. He was standing over Magnus, with an expression on his face like he was in on a joke that Magnus hadn’t got yet. An unpleasant joke, it looked like. 

‘Who are you?’ the man asked coldly. 

‘Magnus Burnsides, carpenter,’ Magnus said, pushing himself to his feet. ‘What do you think you’re doing, knocking a kid about like that?’

‘Do you know who _I_ am?’ the man asked. Magnus frowned, looking from the pale face with its short, dark beard, to the fine clothes, to the three people behind him, who, Magnus suddenly realised, were all armed and uniformed. Two members of the local militia; one member of the governor’s personal guard. 

‘Governor Kalen, sir,’ he said, bowing. ‘Forgive my disrespect, but I was worried about the girl.’ 

He had only ever seen the governor at a distance before – the man spent nine months out of twelve in Neverwinter anyway – but it had to be him. And it would explain the small crowd of onlookers they were attracting. It wasn’t every day you got to see the local carpenter knock the governor on his ass. 

‘Carthy!’ the governor said, and one of the militia members, a dwarven woman named Sal whom Magnus knew a little, stepped forward. ‘Make out a paper. Fine: sixty gold, for assault against the person of the governor.’ 

Magnus’ stomach lurched. The harvest festival was a couple of weeks away and he’d been putting money by; enough to have a drink with his friends, treat the neighbours’ kids without worrying about it; he’d even had some foolish half-idea about buying some good mahogany and making something for Julia. Then he realised presents for his friends were the least of his worries; he’d be struggling to eat after paying off sixty gold. 

‘I can’t afford that,’ he blurted. 

‘Sir,’ Sal Carthy said, ‘given the usual craftsman’s wage in this town, and that it wasn’t a hard blow – ’

‘The fines for various forms of criminal and loutish behaviour are set out in law,’ the governor said coldly, ‘and the law must be uniformly applied. You’re not employed to give legal advice. You – ’ to Magnus – ‘hold your tongue.’ 

‘I can pay it a piece at a time – ’ Magnus said, but Governor Kalen slapped him sharply across the face. 

It barely hurt, but Magnus was dumbstruck. Nobody had hit him to punish him since he’d left school at fourteen. Other masters smacked their apprentices about; not Steven, not ever. His ears rang. He thought he might start cursing, or burst into tears, but actually he managed to speak very evenly. 

‘Sir,’ he said, ‘I’m a citizen here, and a person. I’m not trying to be disrespectful. Don’t strike me.’ 

Kalen brought his hand up for another slap, and Magnus moved without thinking. He was faster than the governor, and a lot stronger. He easily knocked the blow aside.  
The governor stared at his hand, curling his fingers as though he was trying to shake something unpleasant off them. 

‘Valerian?’ he said, and his personal guard stepped forward. The man was an out-of-towner; Magnus had never seen him before. He looked like he’d been in a fair few scrapes. Much rougher ones than Magnus had been in. Ones with steel weapons. And he looked like he was looking forward to getting into a few more. 

‘Why don’t you teach our young carpenter here a lesson?’ Kalen said, his lip curling. The guard threw back his cloak, revealing a heavy wooden truncheon hanging from his belt. Solid, close-grained oak, the kind that was hard and sturdy as bones. An unhappy mutter went through the crowd around them as he drew the weapon with a grin. 

Magnus balanced on the balls of his feet, his mind racing. He’d had kids come at him with sticks before. He knew how to dodge a ranged blow and knock the weapon out of his opponent’s hand. But he wasn’t necessarily faster or smarter than this trained fighter. And then there was the fact that this man was a soldier. If Magnus knocked him down, wouldn’t Kalen order something worse? But on the other hand, could he stand to let himself get beaten in front of a street full of people without putting up a fight? How badly _was_ he going to get beaten, anyway? He was sure it was illegal to have people bludgeoned to death in the middle of the street, but then he was also sure it was illegal to attack children for no reason. 

‘Valerian, look at the crowd,’ Sal said. ‘Don’t hit him.’ The other militiaman, a human named Ben Hastings, said nothing, but he looked uneasy.

Valerian side-stepped Sal and took a swing at Magnus. Magnus ducked. The unhappy mutter rose to a roar. 

‘Magnus!’ a voice yelled. Magnus looked up to see a half-elven woman sticking her head out of the sweet shop. ‘This way!’ 

‘Shit,’ Sal muttered and brought her own truncheon up, using it to block Valerian’s as he tried to attack again. 

Magnus bolted, darting under the sweet shop proprietress’ arm and into the sweet-smelling warmth of the shop. 

‘This way,’ she said. ‘Quick.’ 

She hurried him through the shop and out of the back entrance. 

‘We’ll take the back streets,’ she said. He remembered that her name was Vera. ‘I expect that crowd’ll keep Kalen busy, but we don’t want any militia-men seeing you just the same. I’m taking you home. I don’t want you finding any more trouble today.’

Magnus opened his mouth to say that he didn’t plan to, and then closed it again. The truth was that he had no idea what he would do if she took her arm away from around his shoulders. 

He barely knew how they got back to the workshop. When he opened the door Julia was still sitting where he’d left her, looking as though she were daydreaming, which was unusual for her. She started up as soon as she saw him come in. 

‘Magnus! What’s wrong?’ she exclaimed. ‘You’re white as a sheet! Vera…’ 

‘Sit down,’ Vera said, pushing Magnus into a chair. ‘There was trouble in the market…don’t worry, I don’t think he’s hurt…’

‘Who’s hurt?’ Steven had come into the room. He looked at Magnus sharply. ‘What happened to your face, son?’

‘I’m not hurt,’ Magnus said. 

Steven held him by the chin and turned his face to the lamp. ‘Have you been fighting?’ he asked. 

Magnus suddenly felt as if he was going to throw up. He wanted to hide himself from Steven’s stare. He couldn’t bear to even glance at Julia. He didn’t know whether he wished he’d fought harder or not at all; only that he felt horribly ashamed. 

There was a loud knock at the door and Magnus jumped. Steven released him with a scowl and stalked over to answer it, revealing Ben the militia-man standing on the threshold.  


‘What the hell were you thinking, Burnsides?’ he said without preamble. 

‘Are you here to arrest him?’ Vera demanded. 

‘ _I_ am the master of this house!’ Steven said loudly, ‘and when you’re at my door you’ll address yourself to me first, Ben. What has Magnus got himself into?’

‘He took a swing at Governor Kalen and knocked him off his feet,’ Ben said. 

Julia swore into the silence, then clapped both hands over her mouth. Steven didn’t even spare her a glance of reprove. 

‘He hit a little kid,’ Magnus choked out. 

‘I saw,’ Ben said. ‘It was bad. My blood boiled. But you can’t knock down the _governor_.’

‘I didn’t mean to knock him down and I didn’t know he was the governor.’ 

‘Gods _above_ , Burnsides!’ Ben shouted. ‘Who else do you think walks around in a velvet coat hitting children for fun? You don’t use your head, do you? You just rush in!’

‘That’s enough,’ Steven growled. 

‘And what did you complain about the fine for?’ Ben went on, ignoring him. ‘You get clobbered with something like that, you find a work-around later when they’re doing the paperwork. You don’t _appeal to the governor_ on the spot! Not when it’s Governor Kalen.’

 _Don’t talk about the money,_ Magnus willed him. _Not in front of Julia and Steven._

‘I said that’s enough!’ Steven said. ‘Let me get this straight. You saw the governor hit a kid and you took a pop at him?’

‘I pushed him away from her and he slipped,’ Magnus mumbled. 

‘It happened more like that,’ Ben conceded. ‘So then the governor has my partner Sal write him a fine on the spot, Burnsides complains and the governor gives him a slap.’

_Not in front of Julia, _Magnus thought.__

__‘Illegal,’ Steven said. ‘Go on.’_ _

__‘I’d’ve seen red,’ Vera said, ‘but Magnus stands there and reminds the governor sweet as anything that he has his rights. And then Kalen turns to his guardsman and the man pulls out a club.’_ _

__Magnus felt a hand close like a vice on his shoulder. He turned his head a fraction and saw Julia’s sleeve. She was shaking._ _

__Steven rubbed a hand over his face. ‘Did you fight a guardsman, Magnus?’_ _

__‘No,’ Vera said. ‘There were people watching; they didn’t like it. I pulled him into my shop before any more mischief happened. Didn’t see anything else after that.’_ _

__‘What happened after we ran?’ Magnus asked Ben._ _

__‘There was a scuffle,’ Ben said. ‘That guardsman tried to break in the shop door to get to you. Old Phillip the violinist got in his way; you know he used to be a soldier; disarmed him as neat as anything. A couple of people tried to lay hands on the governor, but Sal put a stop to that right quick. Yelled some sense into them. Then more local militia and guards showed up and Kalen dispersed the crowd. Put seven people in the stocks. And he told me to get out of his sight, and so I’m here.’_ _

__‘Not on official business?’ Steven said, with the shadow of a smile._ _

__‘No; just on my own account to ask what got into your boy’s fool head.’_ _

__‘Easy…’_ _

__‘It was only a matter of time before something like this happened,’ Vera said. ‘That man’s been nothing but trouble since he came in – ’_ _

__‘He put _seven_ people in the stocks?’ Magnus said. _ _

__‘Yep,’ Ben said grimly. ‘Phillip, Sal; didn’t matter to him that she was only trying to save his skin; a couple of youngsters like you who got overexcited – ’_ _

__‘Phillip’s in the stocks?’ Magnus said, jumping up. ‘Now? For how long?’_ _

__‘Now. Who knows?’_ _

__‘But it’s almost dark out!’ Magnus shouted. ‘Look at the sky; it’s set to rain all night. He’s sixty five! You might as well call it murder and be done with it.’_ _

__‘You might as well,’ Ben agreed, staring at him coldly. ‘Maybe next time you’ll think before you punch above your weight.’_ _

__‘I’m going to the courthouse,’ Magnus said. ‘This is because of me; I’ll turn myself in and they’ll let the others go –’_ _

__‘They’ll toss you in a cell for the night and not listen to you till morning,’ Steven said. ‘Stay put, son.’_ _

__‘Then I’ll break them out myself,’ Magnus said. The moment he spoke he could have bitten out his own tongue. He’d just blurted out his intentions to a roomful of witnesses. Ben was right. He didn’t think._ _

__‘I didn’t hear that,’ Vera said. She pulled her shawl around herself and hurried out of the shop._ _

__‘You didn’t hear that either,’ Julia said to Ben. ‘I swear to the gods, if you snitch on him – ’_ _

__‘Settle down, Julia,’ Steven said._ _

__‘I’m not going to snitch on him,’ Ben said. ‘You know what I felt like, watching him stick up for that kid and Sal stick up for him? I felt like chicken shit. So I promise you you’re not going to hear anything more from the militia tonight.’_ _

__He turned on his heel and strode out of the door. Magnus, Julia and Steven were left staring at each other across the room._ _

__‘Magnus is right,’ Julia said. ‘At least one person is going to catch their death tonight. It’s summary punishment. It’s illegal. We’ll find some way to make it right tomorrow; right now we’ve just got to help…’_ _

__‘He did basically promise to keep the militia off our backs if we do something tonight, right?’ Magnus said._ _

__Steven glowered at both of them. ‘Your mother and I swore to each other,’ he said, ‘that we would never lock you in your room, Julia. You’re free to do as you please. There’s locksmithing tools in that vanity and a good hacksaw on the rack – Magnus, you know where. And now I’m going to bed, because unlike either of you I can use my head, and I know that someone needs to be on the outside to bail your fool hides out of jail tomorrow morning.’_ _

__He walked out of the room._ _

__‘Julia,’ Magnus said. ‘I’m, I’m so sorry, I’m so – ’_ _

__‘Shut up,’ Julia said. ‘You get the hacksaw, I’ll get the thieves’ tools. He meant lock picking, not locksmithing. Do you have an oilskin?’_ _

__‘Yes.’_ _

__‘Get that, too.’_ _

__It had started to rain steadily. Carrying a muffled lantern, the rain pattering on their oilskins, they slipped through the streets towards the courthouse. Magnus couldn’t believe Julia was getting mixed up in all this as well. But he tried to imagine insisting that she wait behind, and immediately felt ashamed of himself. He could have abandoned the whole plan, but she’d probably have gone anyway. Really, the only way to avoid this would have been to not hit Kalen in the first place._ _

__‘Are you alright?’ Julia whispered._ _

__‘I just wish you weren’t in danger,’ Magnus said._ _

__‘Me too. And I wish _you_ weren’t in danger. I swear, if I’d seen Kalen lay a hand on you I’d have hit him so hard I’d be wearing his teeth like a bracelet.’_ _

__Magnus gave a startled laugh. ‘Thank you,’ he said, ‘but I think that would only have made things worse.’_ _

__‘Yes,’ Julia said. ‘You’ve demonstrated that. Look, there they are…’_ _

__They peered through the intensifying curtains of rain, trying to make out the scene in front of the courthouse, a large, handsome building that also served the town as a general meeting hall. Magnus could see the dark mass of the stocks and guess at the figures inside them, but he couldn’t tell if they were guarded or not._ _

__‘What do we do if there’s a guard?’ he whispered._ _

__‘I’ll go out in the open and you swing round from the side,’ Julia whispered back. ‘If there’s one there and it’s a militiaman, I’ll try to talk him round. If that doesn’t work or he’s one of Kalen’s, I’ll get his attention and you clobber him from behind. Okay?’_ _

__‘Okay,’ Magnus whispered, and slipped out of the side-street, keeping to the dense shadows at the edge of the square. Julia gave him a few seconds’ head start, then stepped out into the open._ _

__Magnus saw her unmuffle and raise the lantern, illuminating the seven bedraggled figures sitting in the stocks, without even a pad of cloth to shield them from the cobbles._ _

__‘Is there a guard here?’ she called._ _

__‘I’m a guard,’ a voice replied. Magnus recognised Sal. ‘What are you up to?’_ _

__‘We’re here to break you out,’ Magnus said, stepping forward._ _

__‘Nuh-uh!’ Sal said. ‘No way! Go the fuck home, Burnsides, and stop meddling. And you, Miss Waxman. You’re a nice girl; you don’t want to get mixed up in this.’_ _

__‘I’m a nice girl and I don’t want to see innocent people catch their deaths!’ Julia said hotly._ _

__‘I’d appreciate getting out of this rain,’ Phillip the violinist piped up. His voice sounded thin and reedy._ _

__‘Has anyone even told my kids where I am?’ a woman said. ‘They’ll be scared to death; it’s not safe…’_ _

__‘Look, get Phillip out if you must,’ Sal said. ‘I’m chained up here; I can’t stop any of you from going. But I’m staying here, and if I had my way I’d arrest the both of you.’_ _

__‘Sal,’ Phillip said, ‘I admire your integrity, I really do, but I think we’ll be safer if we act collectively. And you know the governor will find a way to blame you whether you stay or not. You might as well get out of the wet.’_ _

__Sal huffed. ‘Fine,’ she said. ‘Get us out if you can. Hotheaded idiots.’_ _

__Magnus set to work with the hacksaw and Julia with the lock picks. In a few moments all seven prisoners were free, stamping the feeling back into their legs._ _

__‘So what now?’ the woman asked._ _

__‘I say we head for the governor’s residence right now and smash the place,’ one of the young men shouted. ‘He tried to have an innocent man beaten to death!’ That got a couple of yells of approval._ _

__‘Nobody’s smashing anything!’ Magnus said. ‘Listen. What Kalen did was terrible, but he got one thing right: the law has to apply to everyone. So we’ll all meet at first light tomorrow and surrender to the magistrate. Maybe I’ll get pardoned because of the situation or maybe I’ll pay my God-damned fine, and you’ll all get sentenced to community service and paint some walls or man the fire station or do something that actually helps this town instead of freezing your asses off here in the stocks. Agreed?’_ _

__‘Agreed’ sounded all around him. Sal put out an arm for old Phillip to lean on, and Julia and Magnus stuck with the young men until they were sure they were going home, and all of them dispersed to wait for morning._ _


	2. The Magistrate

Magnus’ stomach was churning as he crossed the square towards the town hall. He had absolutely no idea what the consequences would be in a situation like this. On the one hand, he and Julia had definitely saved at least one person from serious illness. On the other, they had broken arrested people out of prison.

He had given in to his feelings at the last moment and tried to persuade Julia to stay at home. She hadn’t been present at the initial scuffle and nobody in authority knew she had been involved. But Julia had crushed that idea immediately.

‘We promised those people we’d all face the music together. How do you think they’re going to react if they show up and I’m not there?’

Magnus had been sure that at least some of the detainees would be lying low, but to his surprise all seven were there.

‘Thank you all for coming,’ he said sincerely as he and Julia joined the group.

‘What Phillip said yesterday was right,’ said the woman who’d been worrying about her children. ‘We’re much safer doing this all together. What are they going to do, throw nine upstanding citizens in jail over a fight that lasted less than a minute?’

‘You’d be surprised when Kalen’s involved,’ one of the men said grimly, ‘but let’s see what the magistrate can do for us.’

‘I’ll take the lead,’ Sal said. ‘I’ll try to take some kind of responsibility for what happened; try to spin it that we moved rather than escaped. Don’t march in, act humble. And try to stay calm, even if they start tossing some harsh words around. Let’s go.’

She led them into the hall.

Inside it was much busier than Magnus had expected, with about twenty militiamen moving about, pulling on boots and readying weapons. They were moving lethargically, however, as though whatever orders they’d received had been unclear or might change any minute. When Magnus’ little group entered the hall, the people nearest them stopped to stare, and a wave of stillness began to spread out from the door.

‘What are you all gearing up for?’ Sal asked the nearest militiaman.

‘Heading out to hunt for you,’ he answered.

Magnus heard raised voices approaching down the hall.

‘…the fact that the average citizen of your town, Lady Magistrate, is nothing but a common jailbird.’

‘Governor, you must understand that there are punishments which quash wrongdoing and punishments which incite it. Those people were exposed overnight, without a hearing; such a punishment is uncommon in this city. Is it any wonder that somebody took pity on them? To set the whole militia on a manhunt is – ’

Kalen and the magistrate stopped in their tracks as they saw what the militiamen were staring at. Then Kalen raised a hand and pointed straight at Magnus.

‘That’s the one,’ he said. ‘Wretched little bold-face.’

‘I’m here to surrender,’ Magnus said.

‘Magistrate,’ Sal said, stepping forward, ‘I gave permission for the prisoners to be moved last night, since the weather was cold and some of them are in poor health. We had no wish to avoid punishment for what happened yesterday, and we are ready to accept whatever sentence you hand down.’

‘Step into the courtroom,’ the magistrate said. ‘I’ll hear this case at once.’

‘What’s the need?’ Kalen asked. ‘They are all guilty of rioting and escaping prison, and witnesses can attest to it.’ He shouted to the militiamen, ‘arrest them!’

‘If these people had been brought before me yesterday before being placed in the stocks,’ the magistrate said, ‘I wouldn’t hesitate now to punish them much more harshly for escaping. As it is, they have the benefit of the doubt. They can claim that the punishment was unjust. Let’s make this official, Governor. I’ll hear the case.’

At her command, a dozen guards flanked their group and marched them into the courtroom. It was a much smaller room than Magnus had expected. His imagination had provided him with a cavernous space where the magistrate would loom over them like a god, but actually he could see the whites of her eyes as she settled herself on a small dais, with Kalen beside her.

‘I’ll hear each person’s description of the event in turn,’ the magistrate said. ‘Try to keep to the point; I don’t want this to take all day.’

Magnus had thought hearing Vera and Ben tell the story in the workshop had been bad enough. Hearing it from nearly a dozen different witnesses in court was worse. By the third witness, Magnus was about ready to stand up and say that he’d go to prison without any more fuss rather than hear the same stupid chain of events gone over even one more time. At last it was his turn. He blushed and stammered as he gave his name, but when the magistrate started asking him about the little girl, he found that he was angry all over again. He had to answer her questions in a surly growl to keep himself from shouting.

‘Governor,’ the magistrate said as Magnus finally stepped down, ‘if you would grace the court with your testimony as well. Let nobody complain that I didn’t handle this fairly.’

Kalen began to speak from his seat, not bothering to step down onto the stand, and now Magnus found his embarrassment replaced by curiosity for the first time. The story wasn’t tripping off Kalen’s tongue. Instead he was stumbling, pausing, actually squirming in his seat as he tried to testify. Magnus realised suddenly that he didn’t want to tell the room about getting knocked off his feet by Magnus, any more than Magnus had wanted to tell them about getting smacked around by him. And yet his entire case depended on the idea that Magnus had hurt him.

‘He struck me to the ground…’ Kalen said. He glanced around the room and wetted his lips. ‘He tried to strike me to the ground…’

Somebody snorted quietly and Kalen went white.

‘Can you show your injuries to the court?’ Phillip asked.

‘You impudent scoundrel!’ Kalen exploded.

‘Silence in the court!’ the magistrate said.

‘This has wasted enough time,’ Kalen said. ‘Make your verdict.’

‘I agree,’ the magistrate said. She glanced down at the notes she had written. ‘All of you are found guilty of evading arrest, and, with the exception of Julia Waxman, guilty of unrestful behaviour in a public place.’

‘She didn’t say rioting, though,’ Julia whispered.

‘All of you,’ the magistrate continued, ‘will be cleaning up after the harvest festival in recompense for your crimes. In addition, Sal Carthy is charged with dereliction of duty and Magnus Burnsides with an assault on the person of the governor, both in extenuating circumstances.’

Kalen stood up. ‘Extenuating circumstances?’ he said. ‘The _harvest festival?_ ’

‘It is very natural that these people felt anger upon seeing the child’s accident,’ the magistrate said. ‘However, their response was violent and unlawful. Setting them to work for the city’s good will remind them why the law proscribes violence.’

‘I admire the merciful impulse,’ Kalen said, ‘but let me remind you that you are charged with upholding the rule of law in this town!

‘It is a task I take very seriously, I assure you,’ the magistrate said, shutting her notes with a snap. ‘Carthy, you are stripped of your position in the Raven’s Roost militia with immediate effect. Burnsides, you will pay your original fine of sixty gold pieces, in four quarterly instalments, the first falling due this Candlenights.’

Magnus let out the breath he’d been holding. Disappointment swelled briefly in his chest, but he quashed it. Frankly, he deserved to be working on festival night. He’d been an idiot. And fifteen gold quarterly wasn’t so bad. He could handle it.

One of the young men who’d been shouting the night before stood up and walked to the magistrate’s high desk, groping in his pocket. He pulled out a handful of gleaming coins and stacked them on the desk.

‘Seven,’ he said.

Phillip walked up behind him, adding more gold to the stack. ‘Nineteen,’ he said.

Magnus’ face was burning, but he stayed quiet, sensing that he would somehow be insulting them more if he told them to stop than if he took their money. Every person he and Julia had broken out of the stocks put at least a few gold pieces on the pile, and then a couple of militiamen broke rank and added coins as well. Kalen gripped the arms of his chair until his knuckles turned white.

The magistrate said nothing. She had pulled out a ledger and was noting down the numbers, one at a time. The last man added his gold to the pile, and she scribbled a signature across the page.

‘Sixty gold paid,’ she said. ‘Now clear the court.’

Sal jumped to her feet at once. ‘Come on, Magnus, Julia,’ she muttered, grabbing Magnus by the arm and practically hauling him upright. As she hurried them out of the hall, Magnus glanced at Kalen. He was still sitting frozen, his mouth working with rage. Magnus imagined being the governor of a whole city and still being that angry because an apprentice had wriggled out of a fine, and had to fight back a sudden urge to laugh. He stared at his shoes until they were out of the hall.

‘Well, that was a complete farce,’ somebody said loudly as soon as they were back in the open air.

‘I know!’ Julia said. ‘Half of the people who saw the fight weren’t even there!’

‘I’ll ask her to reconsider her verdict,’ Magnus said.

‘You’ll do nothing of the sort,’ Sal said, her hand like a vice on his arm. ‘You’ll take the win and thank your lucky stars. Keep walking.’

‘She’s Kalen’s flunky through and through,’ the man continued. ‘Talking about that kid’s “accident.”’

‘I thought she showed him some fine cheek,’ the woman with children said. ‘Community service for almost rioting! Steep fine, though.’

‘I…thank you,’ Magnus said. He looked around the small gaggle of people. ‘Thank you, so much, for helping me. I wish there was some way I could repay you – ’

‘No _speeches_ , you _idiot_ ,’ Sal said, hauling on his arm. ‘Move, Magnus. Please.’

‘I’d appreciate it if anybody could help out Sal,’ Magnus said. ‘She’s out of a job because of me.’

‘I could use an extra hand working security during the festival,’ a brewer said, stepping forward. ‘It always gets a little rowdy in the beer tent. I know it’s not fit work for a militiawoman, but it’ll tide you over for a little.’

‘I’m not choosy,’ Sal said. ‘I’ll take it, and thank you kindly for the offer. And now I’m going to have to insist that you all move along.’

She wasn’t officially in charge any more, but people obeyed her automatically. Soon the crowd was flowing again.

‘Magnus,’ Phillip said, ‘I’m still feeling those wet cobbles in my joints a little. Would you lend me your arm as far as my front door?’

‘Of course, sir,’ Magnus said. He gripped Phillip firmly under the elbow and helped him hobble away. Sal gave him a sour look and headed off in the opposite direction. They reached a shallow flight of steps and Magnus started to hand Phillip down them.

‘Leave off; I’m not as lame as all that,’ Phillip said. ‘I wanted a moment alone with you, Magnus. Do you know why Sal was so strung up just then?’

‘No sir.’

‘Well, let me lay it out for you. You know, don’t you, that you’re a popular man?’

‘Er,’ Magnus said, ‘I suppose I am.’

‘And you know that Governor Kalen is an unpopular man?’

‘Because he’s a bully!’

‘And when people see you trying to stop him from bullying a little girl, they feel strongly that they would like to back you up. But that’s illegal. It lands people in the stocks. And if they hear you talking about repaying them and trying to help Sal after being punished, they’ll want to back you up even more. Maybe one or two of them decide to do this by taking a swing at the governor, or at one of his men. And maybe the governor decides that you incited them to do this. And that is treason, Magnus, and treason is a hanging offence.’

*     *     *

The workshop was bustling. Steven was sitting at the high counter by the door, listening intently while their neighbour, a spell-smith named Renee, described a toy she wanted made so that she could charm it for one of her customers. One of the men whom Kalen had thrown in the stocks had broken a spoke in the wheel of his hand-cart and come in for a replacement. Steven was whittling away at the spoke as he listened to Renee, occasionally setting the work aside to jot down notes.

Magnus was carving scrollwork into the edge of a cherry-wood table.  It had been a while since an order had come in for such a luxurious piece of work, and he was enjoying the chance to be decorative. He worked the knife carefully, imagining how richly red the wood would glow once it was varnished.

The cooper’s apprentice, a tousle-headed girl named Meg, was sitting on the bench beside him. The two of them were chattering nineteen to the dozen, but Steven hadn’t made a move to throw her out; Magnus always worked more smoothly when he had someone to talk to. Meg’s mother was near to giving birth, and Meg was talking about the possibility of them ordering a new crib for the baby.

‘Never had a new crib when I was born, mind,’ she said, scuffing her heels on the workbench.

‘You going to be jealous of the baby?’ Magnus asked.

‘Naw,’ Meg said. ‘I’m, like, almost an adult now. That baby’s going to think I’m the coolest sister in the entire world.’

‘You _will_ be the coolest sister in the entire world,’ Magnus said, half his mind already carving imaginary roses into a maple crib, sanded down to soft edges to keep the baby safe. ‘Wish I’d had a sibling.’

The bell over the door rang as a couple walked into the shop. The Hammer and Tongs hadn’t been this busy in months; not since Kalen’s new taxes had come in. Magnus felt fully at ease for the first time since the tussle in the square. He jumped up to help the new couple, but Steven waved him back to his work.

‘My daughter’ll help you,’ he said. ‘Julia!’

There was a clatter on the stairs and Julia appeared, shaking off that happy, far-away look that meant she’d been working on her music. It was ridiculous, Magnus thought, for his heart to turn over every time she walked into a room; he saw her walk into rooms multiple times per day. But his heart wasn’t listening to reason.

When he looked back at Meg, she was smirking and pulling a soppy face at him. Magnus threw a handful of wood shavings at her.

The couple wanted to buy a set of chairs. Julia started pulling out various examples that Magnus had built, showing them the different woods and finishes. Magnus listened, occasionally smacking Meg’s hand away when she tried to drop a wood shaving down his neck.

‘We thought we might order a new set, rather than buying them ready-made,’ one of the men said. ‘What’s this wood you’re using now?’ he asked Magnus.

‘Cherry. It’s the gift that keeps on giving,’ Magnus said. ‘The colour darkens as the wood ages; this red’ll just get richer and richer. Pricey, though.’

‘This carving is amazing,’ Julia said, touching the edge of the table. Magnus felt his throat close up.

‘Is the pattern your own design?’ the other man asked. Magnus cleared his throat.

‘Yes. Been waiting for a chance to use it. Haven’t had an order like this in a while.’

‘Say we were to order a set of four with similar decoration…’

‘If you come to the counter,’ Julia said, ‘my father will write you a quote.’

The bell rang again, and Phillip the violinist stepped through the door.

‘Julia!’ he called as soon as he saw that she was in the shop. ‘How is your composition coming?’

‘Really well,’ she said, going over to kiss him on the cheek.

‘And will you be performing at the festival?’

‘That depends if I have any energy left over after scrubbing tables.’

‘I find myself faced with the same choice,’ Phillip said. ‘It’s a hard sentence we three have been handed down, isn’t it, Magnus?’

‘The worst,’ Magnus agreed.

‘What’re you here for, Phillip?’ Steven asked.

‘I need the wood dressed for a couple of new instruments,’ Phillip said.

‘I’ll be on it in a moment,’ Steven said. ‘Just to make a change I’m going to have to ask you to wait in line.’ He put the finishing touches to the spoke he was carving and beckoned the carter over.

‘I’ll get this fitted for you now,’ he said, ‘though if I were you I’d replace the whole wheel.’

‘Would if I could afford it,’ the carter said. ‘Not with Kalen’s tax.’

‘Don’t I know it,’ Steven said, hauling the wheel onto the table. ‘We haven’t been this busy in a while. What brings you to my shop, Renee? I thought you usually worked with the competition.’

‘My customer heard the story about what happened the other day,’ Renee answered. ‘You know, with the governor. I think they were impressed.’

‘Same for us,’ one of the men buying chairs chimed in. ‘We didn’t know this place existed before we heard the story. It was about time somebody stood up to that man.’

‘Wish I could promise you that my wood-working’s as good as my freedom-fighting,’ Magnus said.

‘It is!’ Julia said, swinging one of the chairs around with a bang. ‘You see that patina? That’s _justice_.’

‘He works that Kalen-walin’ energy right into the varnish,’ Meg said. Magnus and Julia both gave undignified snorts of laughter.

‘You see this?’ Magnus picked up a chair leg that hadn’t been fitted yet and flipped it over in his hand. ‘We only use the finest oak here. Guaranteed not to crack, even if it comes up against a skull as thick as his.’

‘Is there a discount if we promise to use them to clobber him?’ the carter asked, ambling over to join them.

‘ _Absolutely_ there is a discount for that,’ Magnus said.

Meg grabbed another chair leg and pointed it at Magnus, yelling,

‘En garde!’

She swung the leg at him just as Steven and Phillip both called,

‘Magnus!’

Magnus side-stepped Meg’s strike easily, bringing up an arm to knock the chair leg out of her hand. He caught it before it hit the ground.

‘Sorry, Steven,’ he said.

‘Do you remember what we discussed last time we spoke?’ Phillip asked Magnus, walking over.

‘Yes, sir,’ Magnus said, shamefaced.

‘Your form is good,’ Phillip said, taking the chair leg from him, ‘but you can always react faster. Try again?’

Magnus nodded and Phillip swung at him. Magnus tried the same disarming strike he’d used on Meg, but Phillip somehow feinted at the last moment, stopping the makeshift club an inch from Magnus’ throat.

‘Damn!’ Magnus exclaimed.

‘Hah, got you!’ Phillip crowed. ‘The old hound still knows best.’

‘Show me, show me!’ Meg and Julia both started to clamour at once, crowding closer.

‘What sort of customer service is this?’ Steven called. ‘Phillip, Meg, if you want to brawl, take it outside. Julia and Magnus, you’ve got work to do.’

Meg slouched to the door, looking a little sheepish. Phillip followed her, pausing to lay a note with his order on the counter.

‘Right, Renee, I think I’ve got your order down,’ Steven said. He turned to the carter. ‘Here’s your wheel. Should be sound enough.’

‘Thank you,’ the carter said. ‘I’ll be off then. Burnsides, can I talk to you for a moment?’

‘No he can’t,’ Steven said. ‘He’s got work to be doing.’

‘Beg your pardon, Mr Waxman,’ the carter said. He gave Magnus a look he couldn’t quite read, then left the shop. Renee followed.

‘I’m sorry about those ruffians,’ Steven said to the two remaining men. ‘I assure you we don’t run a wrestling ring here in our spare time.’

‘Don’t worry. I think we could all use a laugh,’ one of the men said. They placed an order for four carved cherry chairs, _in that weapon-grade wood, mind you_ , and then left.

‘Phillip was teaching you self-defence last time you spoke?’ Julia muttered to Magnus, sweeping up wood shavings beside his work station. ‘Does he think you’re going to need it?’

‘Nah, he just made it sound that way to cover my ass,’ Magnus said. ‘He warned me not to talk trash about the governor. Said it could get people riled up.’

‘Oh!’ Julia put a hand to her mouth. ‘I…I started that really. I’m sorry.’

‘Pshh, I ran with it. I can say some stupid stuff sometimes. Don’t worry about it, it was a good lark.’

‘Well, business’ll be back on an even keel in no time if you can keep charming people through the door like this, Magnus,’ Steven said. ‘Maybe find a less rowdy way to do it next time, though.’

Magnus grinned ruefully. Steven walked over and ran an appraising eye over the table he was working on.

‘That’s some damned fine carving,’ he said. ‘What do you think about entering the craftsmen’s showcase next spring?’

‘You think I should?’ Magnus said, pulse quickening.

‘For sure,’ Steven said. ‘I know it seems a long time away, but start thinking about it. You’re more than ready.’ He turned to Julia. ‘We won’t be able to hang on to this one much longer if he keeps going from strength to strength.’

‘Why would I want to go anywhere else?’ Magnus murmured. He let his eyes linger on Julia for just a moment, imagining a tiny change to this scene: the shop busy, Steven pleased with him again, and him and Julia…maybe…not now, but soon, maybe he would tell her…in this warm, safe moment, it almost felt possible.

 


	3. The Rescue

Magnus woke with a start. He was lying on his cot in a cubby off the side of the workshop, wrapped in several layers of woollen blankets. It was warm under the blankets, but the air on his face was icy.

There was a loud knock at the door, and Magnus realised it was knocking that had woken him. He threw a leg out of bed, wincing as the cold air hit him, then stopped. He could tell that until the knock at the door he had been deeply asleep. The room was so cold that it had to be the deepest part of the night. Who would be calling at this hour? And there was something about the knock. It had rattled the door in its frame.

Magnus knew that he should answer the door before whoever was outside woke up the whole household, but he was rooted in place by a creeping sense of dread.

He heard footsteps from the other side of the workshop, where a flight of stairs led up into the Waxman family’s rooms. The door creaked open, its bell chiming incongruously in the stillness.

‘Yes?’ said Steven’s voice.

‘Are you Steven Waxman?’ a man asked. His tone of voice made Magnus bristle.

‘I am; and what of it?’ Steven asked.

‘Waxman, I am here to place your ward Magnus Burnsides under arrest and escort him to Neverwinter for trial,’ the man said. ‘You will grant me access to your property and surrender Burnsides to me at once.’

‘Under arrest?’ Steven said. ‘For what?’

‘For inciting violence against the governor,’ the man said.

Magnus slipped out of bed and moved to the door of his cubby, pressing his eye up to the crack. Across the room on the stairs, a flash of white caught his eye. Julia was peeking around the door to the stairs, just like he was peeking around his. Their eyes met for a moment. Julia’s face looked stiff and frightened. Both of them looked towards the front door.

Ruddy torchlight was spilling through the door, turning Steven into a black silhouette. He had only opened the door a hand’s breadth, and his bulk was blocking that almost entirely, so that Magnus could only make out a sliver of the other man’s face. From the amount of light, though, he though there must be several torchbearers. Exactly how many men had Governor Kalen sent after him?

‘Magnus was already tried and fined by the magistrate,’ Steven said.

‘You haven’t heard?’ the man said. ‘There’s been more mischief since then. The governor’s coach was waylaid as he departed for Neverwinter this evening. One of the culprits was also an accomplice to Burnsides during his first assault on the governor. When questioned he made it very clear who put him up to it.’

Magnus felt as though he’d been plunged into icy water. He remembered horsing about in the workshop with Julia and Meg, and that carter’s unreadable expression as he’d asked to talk to Magnus in private.

‘He didn’t put him up to anything,’ Steven said. Beneath his steady growl, Magnus could hear that his voice was thick with fear. ‘I was there; I’m a witness. They were fooling. He’s a kid.’

‘The culprit said they were training with improvised weapons,’ the guard said. ‘Now open the door; I don’t want to use force.’

Magnus threw open his door, dashing into the workshop.

‘Steven –’ he said.

‘Magnus, stay inside,’ Steven said, his eyes riveted on the door. 'You, where’s your warrant? I’m not letting you in until I see it.’

‘Are you a lawyer as well as a carpenter, sir?’ the soldier asked sneeringly.

‘I’m a man who knows his rights,’ Steven half-shouted, ‘and I’m not about to let you drag an innocent man to heaven knows where – ’

‘To a trial. Why should an innocent man fear a trial?’

‘Steven, I’ll go,’ Magnus said.

‘No!’ Julia shouted.

‘Magnus, Julia, _stay inside!_ ’ Steven said. ‘Trial? Two weeks on the road just to get to Neverwinter, two months rotting in jail before he even sees a judge. If he’s not a criminal now, he will be by the time that’s over. That is if you don’t cut his throat the moment you’re out of my sight.’

The soldier said something ugly and rammed the door with his shoulder, but Steven was ready for him. He braced the door and forced it shut. Then there was a bang. White light lit up the cracks around the sides of the door, and then it flew open so hard that it bounced off the wall. One of the soldiers outside must be a magic user.

Steven had leapt back in time to avoid being hit by the door. As the lead soldier crossed the threshold, Steven punched him in the gut, sending him sprawling in the entryway. The magician shot a bolt of light from his palm. It hit Steven square in the face, and he fell with a grunt. Julia screamed. Magnus dashed forward, raising his hands above his head.

‘Stop, stop, stop!’ he shouted. ‘Look, I’m here, I surrender!’

Julia was on her knees beside Steven. Magnus willed her to stay still and quiet. He could tell that the soldiers would attack if either of them made the slightest move; might attack anyway just out of spite. He prayed to whatever god was listening that giving himself up would be enough.

‘Cuff him!’ the captain of the soldiers spat, scrambling to his feet. The wizard covered Magnus and Julia with his raised palm as two more men hurried into the workshop. One of them grabbed Magnus’ arms and pulled them behind his back, while the other produced a pair of iron manacles.

‘Julia, don’t worry, I’ll be fine,’ Magnus said as they cuffed him. He couldn’t bring himself to look at Steven, to see if he was bleeding or maimed or dead. ‘Go wake up the neighbours, get some help for him. I’ll write you as soon as I get there – ’

‘Move on!’ one of the soldiers said, shoving him between the shoulders. Magnus twisted to keep Julia’s face in sight as he was bundled out of the workshop and into the dark street.

He felt a flood of relief as soon as she was out of sight, but it was relief without warmth. He wanted her to be safe, but he wanted to be safe with her much, much more. He wished she’d had that magic schooling Steven had never quite been able to afford for her, so that he could have let her protect him. He wished that he was some kind of trained fighter, like the wandering heroes he’d heard about in stories, so that he could have protected her some other way than by giving himself up.

It was bitterly cold. His thick woollen bed socks cushioned his feet from the cobbles, but they were already soaked through from the rain that must have fallen earlier that night. He’d never heard of an arrested man not even being allowed to put on his boots. Maybe Steven was right, and this really was an execution, not an arrest. Maybe he’d just seen him and Julia for the last time.

 _I never said I love you_ , he realised with a stab of pain. What had his last words been to her? _I’ll write you_. It didn’t have quite the same ring to it.

 _You weren’t going to tell her anyway_ , he told himself sternly, _so it makes no difference_. The situation was starting to get to him. He needed to get out of his head.

‘Are you really taking me to a trial?’ he spoke up.

‘We’re taking you before the governor’s tribunal,’ the soldier at his left shoulder said.

 _That sounds like it’ll end well_ , Magnus thought.

‘Was the governor hurt?’ he asked.

‘Not a scratch. You might want to choose your accomplices better in future.’

Magnus bit back a number of retorts. There didn’t seem to be much point in arguing.

‘Are we going all the way to Neverwinter?’ he asked instead.

‘Bit further’n you’ve ever been, I should think,’ the soldier said.

‘It is,’ Magnus agreed. ‘Hope you’ll give me some boots for the trip.’

He actually felt the soldier break stride, as though he’d only just realised Magnus was in his nightshirt.

‘Keep your mouth shut!’ the captain snapped.

They had come to the end of the Craftsmen’s Corridor. It met several other roads in a small square atop one of the main pillars. The captain raised his torch, hesitated almost imperceptibly and then chose a road bearing slightly to the right. Turning left would have got them to the gate faster, but Magnus kept his mouth shut.

The road almost immediately twisted sharply to the right, pointing away from the heart of the city and towards the cliff face. It was a narrow street with the backs of houses piled up high on each side. Then suddenly the buildings stopped, and they found themselves stepping out onto a small bridge, one of many that jumped between the main corridors of the city. All four soldiers stopped sharply. Magnus knew that the drop from this bridge wasn’t actually that far or that sheer, but in the meagre light of the torches it seemed to yawn forever.

‘It’s safe,’ he said. ‘We check the bridges every year. Think my master and I saw to this one ourselves.’

He got no reply except a cuff on the ear for that. The soldiers hustled him out onto the bridge. It was perfectly sound. They could hear their footsteps echoing in the ravine as they passed, along with the sound of trickling water. The rusted iron railings gleamed wetly in the torchlight.

The captain seemed to have realised they’d borne too far right, and chose a road leading left off the bridge, but that one quickly ran into a dead end. The captain turned them back with a curt command and chose the other road, which led right. Now it was obvious to all of them that they were almost back where they’d started. The road twisted and narrowed, until the buildings above were almost shutting out the sky.

‘Didn’t anybody think to notice which street we came in by?’ the captain hissed.

‘Thought we should have taken the left at the square,’ a soldier muttered.

They were sounding jumpy as crickets. Magnus supposed this would be a prime place for an ambush, hemmed in tight and with all those high vantage points. But there was no band of outlaws waiting to spring him.

‘Prisoner – ’ one of the soldiers said.

‘Don’t ask him!’

‘Pshaw, what’s he going to do? Let him send us round in circles all night – he’s the one in socks.’

There had to be some way to turn this to his advantage, Magnus thought. Lead them to another bridge, make a break for it and shin down the cliff where they couldn’t follow? No. Julia might have pulled that off, but not him, not in the dark.

‘Believe me, I just want to get out of the rain,’ he said, teeth chattering. He went to point, remembered the manacles, jerked his head instead. ‘Cut through there, you’ll end up back at the crossroads, take the second left.’

‘Quite the guide aren’t you?’ the captain said. He strode into the alley Magnus had indicated. It went up a steep flight of steps and opened out onto the square they had passed before.

Though it was an overcast night, the square looked bright after the shadowy alleys they’d been walking down. The soldiers made to step out into the square, when suddenly the Captain said,

‘Stop!’

They all froze. Magnus sneaked a glance over his shoulder. The captain was staring up at the rooftops across the square. Magnus had no idea what he was looking at, but his heart started to pound.

 _Twang-zip_. There was a barely audible sound. Magnus looked around, trying to place it, and saw the soldier beside him staring stupidly down at his chest. An arrow was sticking in his leather breast-plate. The soldier began to scream blue murder.

‘Get on the ground!’ the captain roared. He kicked out Magnus’ knees and planted a boot on his shoulder as he went down, forcing him prone. Magnus twisted his head to the side, cheek pressed to the icy cobbles, and tried to work out what was going on. Flashes of light illuminated the soldiers’ legs as they moved to react to whatever was happening. Magical attacks were being launched from somewhere over their heads. One of the soldiers fell with a curse, and Magnus flinched as a flailing foot swung almost into his face. He craned his neck and saw Meg, the cooper’s apprentice, pinning the soldier to the ground and going at it with both fists.

Magnus reared up with all his strength, dislodging the captain’s foot, and rolled onto his back. He could see a dozen people surrounding them, all figures he recognised, men and women from the Craftsmen’s Corridor. The downed soldier was getting the upper hand in his tussle with Meg, but her master jumped forward, swinging a hammer, and dealt him a blow that had to have broken bones. The wizard tried to get off a curse, but Renee the spellsmith got in his way, knocking his hand aside and delivering a spell of her own right to his chest. He went reeling, stumbled to his feet and bolted.

Magnus heard a ring of steel as the captain drew his sword, still standing directly over him with murder in his eyes. Magnus’ stomach turned to water. He tried to scramble away, but his hands were still chained behind his back, and his feet could get no purchase on the rain-slicked cobbles. The captain brought his sword up over his shoulder, poised to slice down at Magnus. Then suddenly Julia was leaping between him and the captain, swinging the hand axe from the workshop with both hands. She hit the captain squarely and he crumpled. The other soldier threw Meg off him and he and his comrade took to their heels, following the fleeing wizard. Within seconds the three of them were out of sight. 

Julia let the axe fall with a clatter and put her hands to her mouth.

‘Oh, gods above,’ she said, looking between Magnus and the man she had felled. ‘Gods above…’

‘Magnus, I’m going to help you up, alright?’ Renee said from behind him. She put her hands under his armpits and helped haul him to his feet. ‘ _Oof_ , you’re a big lad. Let’s get you out of these cuffs.’

Julia threw her arms around Magnus. There were tears in her eyes. Magnus ached with the need to hold her, but Renee was still fumbling with the cuffs.

‘Open,’ she said. ‘Sorry, that one fizzled. I’m out of practise. _Open_.’

Magnus heard the lock click, felt the cuffs slip free. He grabbed hold of Julia and clung to her, finding that he was shaking violently, with shock and with cold.

‘Is he hurt?’ the cooper asked.

‘I’m fine,’ Magnus said. ‘I’m fine.’ He pushed Julia just far enough away that he could look into her face. ‘How did…how did you – ’

‘Did you really think I was going to let them take you?’ she said, in a low, fierce voice.

‘I…’ Whatever Magnus had been about to say died in his throat. He stared down at her, speechless, heart overflowing with love.

‘She roused us up the minute you were taken,’ said another man, a cobbler who lived a few doors down from the workshop. ‘Reckoned what with knowing the city we could take them by surprise; knew we had ’em outnumbered. Was a bit of a race catching up to you though.’

‘They got lost on the way to the gate,’ Magnus said.

‘Thought they probably would,’ the cobbler agreed.

‘Magnus,’ Julia said, stepping out of his arms. ‘I…he’s dead.’

Magnus looked down at the captain. The axe had struck him in the forehead. A little blood glinted darkly on his face, and bone showed white in the gash. There was no question that he was dead.

‘He was going to kill Magnus,’ the cooper said. ‘Bastard. He could have run like the others.’

‘What happened to Steven?’ Magnus asked.

‘He’ll be fine, we think; my wife’s sitting with him,’ Renee answered.

‘He’ll be in trouble too now,’ Magnus said. ‘He hit that captain.’

‘A whole pile of trouble going to come of this,’ the cobbler said. ‘Anybody given any thought to what happens next?’

‘Magnus, you have to run,’ Julia said. ‘Tonight.’ She threw down a bundle wrapped in oilskin, pulling out boots and a soft leather coat. Magnus began to hurry into them as Julia went on. ‘Come back to the workshop, grab a few things and just go. Join a caravan, maybe you can find my mother’s, they’re often travelling near the city. Get a hundred miles down the road and nobody’s going to give a damn what happened here.’

‘No,’ Magnus said, straightening up with his boots half-laced. ‘No, no, no, what are you talking about?’

‘Kalen’s never going to leave you alone as long as you stay here. He’ll come back with more men and we won’t be able to fight them off.’

‘Kalen’s never going to leave _you_ alone after what you did. You broke the law for me – _all_ of you broke the law! I’m not leaving you!’

‘He’s right, Julia,’ Renee said. ‘All three of you are going to have to run for it.’

Julia bit her lip. ‘Father won’t leave,’ she said. ‘This is his home.’

‘This is _my_ home, and you’re my family!’ Magnus shouted. Julia opened her mouth to argue, but no words came out. Her eyes glittered with unshed tears and she grabbed Magnus’ hand.

Magnus looked from her to the other familiar faces crowded around him. The enormity of what they’d done for him suddenly hit home.

‘He tried to have me killed because I hit him and got away with it. He’ll probably torch the whole Craftsman’s Corridor over this. We can’t all run,’ he said.

‘So what do we do?’ Renee asked.

‘What we’re doing now, I guess,’ Magnus said. ‘Resist them if they try to arrest us. Fight.’

‘How many men does that chicken-shit have in his personal guard anyway?’ Meg said. ‘Twenty? If they try to storm the Corridor we can fight them off easy!’

‘Steady,’ the cooper said. ‘If we fight his guards, they’ll send in the army proper.’

‘We need the city militia to help us,’ Magnus said. ‘So many people’s heads are on the block now, and whatever punishment Kalen tries, it won’t be fair. The militiamen are our own people; there’s a good chance they’ll take our side. If they won’t let Kalen’s guards into the city, if they say they’ll protect us if he tries, maybe he’ll give up.’

‘We should go now, _right_ now,’ Renee said. ‘Get our word in first, before the magistrate gets wind of this and tells them we’re criminals and sends them round to arrest us. Who knows, those guards of Kalen’s might even be back before the night is out.’

‘We’ve got to do something about this body, too,’ the cooper said.

‘I’ll move him, lay him out decently at my shop,’ Renee said at once.

‘Thank you,’ Magnus said. ‘Everyone else, to the barracks!’

‘Magnus, what if this is a mistake?’ Julia whispered as they half-ran down the dark street. ‘What if we’re just handing you over to them?’

‘They won’t arrest all these people,’ Magnus whispered back. ‘This is more than half the Corridor; town’d collapse without them working.’

‘What if they offer you to Kalen if he pardons the rest of us or something?’

‘Well that’d be a good trade, wouldn’t it?’

‘ _Not to me!_ ’ Julia said. Before Magnus could even begin to answer, they rounded the corner into the main square, and all other thoughts were driven from his mind. It was obvious that something was deeply wrong.

The square was full of people. Not as many as on a busy market day, perhaps, but far more than there should have been at dead of night. It was normal so close to the harvest festival for a few people to be working late, setting things up, but not this many. The half-built stalls were abandoned. This crowd wasn’t here to work. And they were too quiet.

Magnus squeezed Julia’s hand tightly and began to walk forward. Heads turned, and a lantern was raised, illuminating their faces.

‘It’s him; it’s Burnsides!’ someone shouted. And then Magnus saw a dark figure come barrelling towards him.

‘Magnus, what the hell did you do?’ she shouted.

‘Sal?’ Magnus said. He had never imagined that her voice could sound so frightened.

‘Yes, yes, it’s me!’ she said impatiently. ‘What happened; why are you out of bed?’

‘Men came from Kalen and tried to arrest me,’ Magnus said.

‘ “ _Tried”_? What happened?’

‘We fought them off,’ Julia said.

‘ _Shit_!’ Sal said.

‘Sal, what happened here?’ Magnus demanded. People were starting to gather around them. ‘Why are you so shook up? What’s with all these people?’

‘I was working in the ale tent, hauling barrels,’ Sal said. ‘It was late but Phillip came to talk. Said he never sleeps the night through anyway.’ She dashed away a tear. Magnus stared in real alarm. ‘That’s where the soldiers found him, they said some cock-and-bull story about him training you, Magnus, what the _hell_ did you do?’

‘Are you planning something against the governor?’ someone in the crowd shouted.

‘What’s the plan?’ someone else said. Magnus waved them away blindly.

‘Sal, I didn’t – ’ he said. ‘What happened?’

‘He said to me,’ Sal said, thick and slow, ‘that they weren’t there to give him a fair hearing, he picked up his walking stick and when they went to take him down – ’

‘He fought back?’ Magnus said, overflowing with admiration. He imagined Phillip, rumours of his soldiering days surrounding him, still far more hale than he let on, moving faster than Magnus could follow to get the better of him with an improvised club. ‘Sal, how long ago was this? Have they made it out of the city yet?’ He raised his voice. ‘I need volunteers! Who’s going to help me spring him?’

‘Phillip is dead,’ Sal said.

‘I – what?’ Magnus faltered.

‘He was outnumbered five to one,’ Sal said, voice breaking. ‘They surrounded him, brought him down – ’

‘No,’ Magnus said.

The crowd around them was quietening as people realised he was hearing the news. People in front of him moved aside to the left and right, clearing a path towards a cloak laid out on the ground, a dark shape atop it. Magnus stumbled forward, Julia right behind him. He dropped to his knees beside Phillip’s body.

He had seen dead bodies before, but it had never been like this. Somebody had closed Phillip’s eyes, but his mouth was twisted as though he’d died in pain. Magnus fumbled for the old man’s hand, gripping it tightly. His fingers hadn’t even had time to stiffen. It was hard to believe that in a moment he wouldn’t get up off the ground, asking for Magnus’ arm and complaining of his stiff joints.

‘Easy, son,’ somebody murmured. He felt a hand on his shoulder. He could hear Julia crying. He turned and saw two women he didn’t know standing beside her, holding her hands as she wept.

‘She’s the carpenter’s girl,’ someone was saying. ‘They were neighbours…he taught her to play the mandolin…’

‘The governor’s going to pay for this,’ a man said. Then suddenly he roared out louder, ‘ _the governor’s going to pay for this!’_

‘He tries to kill our young men before their time; he slaughters our old men when they’ve earned their rest!’ somebody else screamed.

Magnus had been immobilised with shock and grief, but suddenly he felt fury explode inside him. It forced him to his feet, erupted from his mouth in a shout.

‘We break open the armoury!’ he shouted. ‘We arm ourselves and we hunt down Kalen’s men.’ He could hear people taking up the shout around him. ‘Let the militia try to stop us!’

‘Townspeople!’ Suddenly a new voice, raised but calm, called through the crowd. Magnus saw two militiamen making way for the magistrate. His stomach clenched at the sight of her, expression cool, staff of office in her hand, her heavy cloak of good wool swaying gently as she walked. Her face looked to him like the twin of governor Kalen’s face.

‘Mister Burnsides, Miss Waxman,’ the magistrate said, ‘please join me in the town hall. We will discuss how to seek redress for this terrible crime.’ She turned away from Magnus and Julia to address the crowd.

‘I am sworn to uphold the laws that protect you all,’ she said. ‘Those laws have been flouted tonight. I only ask for a little time to decide what is to be done.’

The crowd was muttering unhappily. Magnus took a step forward, and Sal suddenly pinched his elbow viciously.

‘Don’t say anything!’ she hissed. ‘Follow her! You two have to pull together or the whole town’ll collapse.’

Magnus didn’t know what she was talking about. He had no intention of pulling together with one of Kalen’s lackeys. But swayed by her urgency, he walked forward quietly. The magistrate turned on her heel and began to walk back towards the town hall, the same building in which she had found Magnus guilty of an assault on the person of the governor. He, Julia and Sal fell into step behind her. The crowd waited silently behind them.

‘Is it safe?’ Julia breathed.

‘She won’t dare hurt you,’ Sal whispered back. ‘And I’m armed.’

The magistrate led them into the hall, and the heavy oak doors swung shut behind them. Inside, the room was ablaze with yellow torchlight. It was disorienting to be standing in a brightly lit room so late at night. Magnus’ head swam.

‘What’s the order?’ one of the militiamen asked the magistrate.

‘Try to dissuade them from breaking open the armoury, just for convenience’s sake,’ she said, ‘but don’t stop them with force, no matter what.’ The militiaman nodded and hurried back out.

‘So, Burnsides, you’re in trouble again,’ the magistrate said.

‘Kalen’s thugs came to drag him out of his bed!’ Julia shouted.

‘Much like what happened to Phillip? I’ve got the gist,’ the magistrate said. ‘So, what are we going to do? You’re about one step away from starting a revolution.’

‘You can’t stop us,’ Magnus snarled. He couldn’t get the image of Phillip out from behind his eyes. He wanted to smash things, tear down every person in power and break them with his bare hands.

‘I’m not trying to stop you,’ the magistrate said.

‘What, you _want_ this to happen? You fined me, you discharged Sal! You’re on _his_ side!’ Magnus said angrily.

‘Oh, _stars’ teeth_!’ the magistrate shouted. ‘Will somebody please explain to this fool how the world works?’

‘You want whatever will cause the least bloodshed,’ Julia said. ‘You’ve got to either put a stop to this now or make sure it’s successful.’

‘I’ve read my history,’ the magistrate growled. ‘I know how this goes. The people get angry, they overwhelm the militia, but they’ve got no leader so in a couple of days the army marches in and puts half the city to the sword. I thought Kalen would get the message when I handed down that joke of a sentence to you, Burnsides. “The local authorities aren’t going to help you bully your subjects so you might as well stop.” But that man is never going to swallow his pride. I should have handed him your head when I had the chance. But it’s too late now. The whole town’s in uproar. I can’t shut this down, so I have to head it up.’

‘A great sacrifice, your honour,’ Sal said. ‘Of course, you’re wise enough to have realised that if there’s a rebellion and you _don’t_ head it up, the people will assume you’re on Kalen’s side.’

‘And hang me from that beam above our heads, most definitely,’ the magistrate said, glancing up.

‘But Kalen probably blames you already, whether you head it up or not,’ Magnus said.

‘Absolutely. I’d rather flee to that mob outside than to him. Milksop bastard.’ The magistrate closed her eyes for a moment, raked her hand through her hair and then continued. ‘You’re all working folk. Tell me. Is this really worth it?’

‘Things are pretty bad,’ Julia said slowly. ‘I’m too young to really know, but Father says it’s been nothing but lean years since Kalen came to power, for everyone in the Craftsmen’s Corridor. People don’t buy fine goods like they used to. It’s hard for us to afford – well. Town’s getting hungry.’

‘He already thinks he can kill people by exposure and beat up children,’ Magnus said. ‘Can things get any worse?’

‘Oh yes,’ the magistrate said. ‘All common law goes out of the window when it comes to punishing traitors. Can we really lead people into this?’

‘I think what you first said was right,’ Julia said. ‘We can’t stop people from rioting now. We’ve just got to give them a fighting chance.’

‘Right,’ the magistrate said. ‘In that case, we’d better get planning. I think we’ve got about one more minute before that crowd out there runs riot. If they try to chase down the governor’s coach – ’

‘That’d take some doing; he left at dusk,’ Sal said.

‘But _if_ they catch him, _if_ our citizens make a concerted attempt on his life, there’ll be nothing the militia can do for us. Neverwinter won’t rest until they’ve shredded this city in retribution. We’ve got to say something to them, get them under control.’

‘Tell them the militia are guarding the entrances into the city and we’re safe from Kalen’s guards for tonight,’ Magnus said.

‘I’ll order the militia to do that,’ the magistrate agreed.

‘Then call a meeting first thing tomorrow,’ Sal said. ‘Every head of household. I know it seems like a big crowd out there, but it’s a fraction of the city. If we’re really going to resist Kalen, we’ve got to give everyone a say in it.’

Magnus swallowed hard. The thought that this might be a flash in the pan, that the town at large might hand him and all his neighbours over to Kalen and leave Phillip unavenged, loomed large and terrifying. But it was the only just way.

‘Good idea,’ he said. ‘We’ll tell them to come at first light and hear our strategy for resisting Kalen, and take a vote on it. And then we’ll make a strategy.’

 ‘Fine,’ magistrate said. She ran her eyes over the three of them. ‘Burnsides, I think you’d better do the talking.’

‘What? I thought you were heading up the rebellion.’

‘In practical terms I am, but I’m about one rung above Kalen in terms of popularity right now,’ the magistrate said. ‘You demonstrated that yourself. So I am _humbly_ deferring to the people’s chosen leader, and I think that’s turning out to be you. Just stand up there, nice working lad, sweetheart on your arm – ’

‘She’s not – ’ Magnus said, while Julia turned scarlet.

‘I do _not_ care,’ the magistrate said. ‘Let’s go.’

Two militiamen unbarred double doors that opened onto a balcony overlooking the square. Magnus stepped out into the chill night air, with Sal and Julia right behind him and the magistrate a little to one side. One of the militiamen was wearing a stripe that marked him out as a magic-worker. He snapped his fingers, and the balcony illuminated as though lit by dozens of candles. Magnus couldn’t see anything beyond that little circle of light, but he could hear the quiet rustle of the crowd. He was sure even more people had woken up in the few minutes he’d been inside. The square sounded full to overflowing. As the four of them stepped out there was a sudden mutter, and he imagined a hundred of pairs of eyes trained on him.

‘I’m amplifying your voice,’ the militiaman muttered to him. ‘Just talk when you’re ready.’

‘We’re safe for tonight,’ Magnus said. ‘Governor Kalen’s men tried arrest Phillip and me for inciting violence. You ran them out of town. The militia are on our side; they’re watching every route in and out of Raven’s Roost.’

There was a rumble from the crowd. Magnus swallowed dryly and continued.

‘I started all this,’ he said. ‘The governor hit a little girl, so I hit him. I didn’t know what I was doing, and now the whole town’s in trouble because of it. I’ll turn myself in straight away if it’s what you want.’

A sudden roar. Magnus could make out long _oh_ sounds in the cacophony of shouting. _No, no!_ A few faces catching the light from the balcony were visible, shaking from side to side, mouths wide open, bawling _no_. They looked distorted, frightening and hungry. Magnus raised his hands, hurrying to calm things down.

‘I would,’ he said, ‘if I thought it would protect you, but it won’t. Nobody’s safe as long as he’s in power. He’s greedy, he’s a bully. The magistrate gave those seven people a fair punishment, and he decided her punishment wasn’t enough. He’s supposed to uphold the law, but he thinks he’s above it.’

The crowd shouted in angry approval.

‘This will be dangerous,’ Magnus said. ‘We’ve got to be careful and smart, otherwise Kalen will crush us. Phillip is already dead.’

There was no shouting this time. For the first time, the crowd was completely silent.

‘Please, nobody do anything else tonight,’ Magnus said. ‘The magistrate and I are going to have a meeting with the militia captains right now. We’re going to find out what resources we have, how we can fight the governor, decide what to do. At first light, all the heads of household should come here to the courthouse. We’ll have a town assembly, and we’ll vote on whether to mount an armed resistance against Kalen.’

 


	4. The Rebellion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

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‘It’s not hopeless, but it’s pretty bad,’ Sal said. ‘As far as defensibility goes, I couldn’t have designed a better place. There’s only three proper roads up onto the pillars. You could march about six men abreast up the widest one, no more. They’ll never be able to storm the place. But they can starve us out, easy. We’ve got no crops; not many people even keep an animal. He just has to issue a decree halting caravans to the town and we’re finished.’

‘What supplies have we already got?’ Magnus asked. ‘We’d probably only be getting one more delivery before the snow sets in anyway; most people must be stocked up for the winter. And there’s all the extra supplies the vendors lay in for the harvest festival. If we start rationing straight away…’

Ben was leaning over Sal’s shoulder, looking at her map. He looked up at Magnus.

‘You want to ask people to surrender their foodstuffs right when a shortage is about to set in?’ he asked.

‘Sure. The only way we’re going to get through this is together, right?’

‘You’re really putting that charm to work, boy. Fine, ask them. I don’t have a better idea.’

‘I have a question,’ Julia said. ‘Is Kalen popular back at court?’

The magistrate snorted. ‘Not much,’ she said. ‘Less so after this.’

‘So we don’t actually have to beat him,’ Julia said, ‘we just have to persuade people higher up that it’s less trouble to leave us alone than to try and beat us. Besieging Raven’s Roost all winter? I know they can do it, but they’re not going to love doing it.’

‘It’s a nice idea,’ the magistrate said, ‘but a rebellion is always worth the trouble in the eyes of the state.’

‘All we want is to get rid of Kalen,’ Julia pressed. ‘We make it clear that we’re willing to stop fighting and come to terms the moment they give us that. At the same time, we make it so much of a hassle to fight us that they can’t justify the expense.’

‘I bet his own soldiers hate him,’ Magnus put in. ‘The man’s a bully; he just can’t help himself. We try to cause as little bloodshed as possible; we get the story out to them; they’re camped out in the snow watching him throw tantrums…’

‘Exactly!’ Julia said. ‘Everyone wants to get rid of him. And there’s only three paths you can use to march an army into Raven’s Roost, but there must be a hundred ways you can climb down, and a lot of them have cover. Even if they throw a net around the whole base of the city, they can’t stop people from sneaking in and out, spying, even doing supply runs – ’

‘I can think of half a dozen spots for an ambush off the top of my head,’ Sal said.

‘Julia knows the cliffs and the woods like the back of her hand,’ Magnus said.

‘Julia thinks I don’t know that she spent half her childhood climbing cliffs too big for her,’ Steven said, walking over with an armful of pikes. He had a huge purple lump above one eye, and he looked paler than Magnus liked to see, but he was on his feet. ‘She’s lucky she didn’t break her neck. Thank the gods you’d grown past that stage before you landed on my hands, Magnus.’

Magnus blushed deeply, catching Julia’s eye. She was shamefaced. On his first holiday as Steven’s apprentice, Steven had told her to show him around. She’d taken him to her favourite climbing spot. Wary, half-hostile, they’d dared each other to climb higher and higher, until finally Magnus had taken a tumble. They’d both been frozen with terror, wondering how they were going to explain broken bones to Steven. But he’d landed luckily, barely taken a scratch. They’d laughed until they nearly cried. The trouble had started for Magnus the moment he laid eyes on Julia, but that was when it really set in.

‘What are you doing with those, Father?’ Julia asked.

‘Looking them over to see if we can knock up something similar in the workshop,’ Steven answered. ‘If this is really happening, the militia won’t be enough. We’re going to have to arm people.’

‘What lumber do we have in stock?’ Magnus asked. ‘We’re going to have to ration firewood as well.’

‘Plenty, but I’m not tossing my seasoned hardwoods on a bonfire,’ Steven said.

‘We have to set an example if we want this to work,’ Julia said.

‘Almighty gods!’ Steven exclaimed, looking from her to Magnus and back again. ‘Fine, fine, I’ll take inventory.’

At five o’clock in the morning they sat down for a bite of bread and butter and a cup of a bitter infusion which, the militiamen said, brought alertness after a sleepless night. Almost immediately afterwards the heads of household began to arrive, filing into the hall until it was full to bursting. Magnus looked out at the seething crowd and tried to guess which way their anger was directed.

The crowd slowly sorted itself out, shunting those representing districts and guilds towards the front. The procedure for popular decision-making was rusty, but not forgotten. The magistrate handed her staff to Magnus to use as a speaking rod. He found that he was less nervous than he had anticipated. He knew what needed to be said.

‘By now all of you know what happened last night,’ he said bluntly. ‘I resisted arrest by Kalen’s personal guard. I was helped by other people from the Craftsmen’s Corridor. Phillip the bard also resisted and was killed. My friends killed one of Kalen’s personal guards, and Phillip killed two more. Any minute now, Kalen’s men are going to be at the city gate demanding a lot of people’s heads. Last night a crowd of you wanted to fight back. We’ve been talking about that all night, and we think it’s possible. What should we do?’

An elderly man raised his hand, and Magnus handed down the rod.

‘The city’s laws state,’ the man said, ‘that only Neverwinter soldiers or our own militia have the authority to make arrests. When wrongfully arrested, a citizen has the right to call for help, and to resist with force.’

There was a thoughtful muttering at that.

‘Thank you,’ Magnus said, taking the rod back. ‘There’s only one real question to decide here. What will cause the least harm to the city: fighting Kalen, or accepting his punishment?’

A woman raised her hand for the rod. ‘I disagree,’ she said. ‘My question is, what is our dignity worth? And my answer is, more than whatever hell Kalen can unleash. How can we hold our heads up next to the other free cities of Faerun if we lie down for this tyrant? I didn’t bring my children into the world to be slaves!’

A roar greeted her words. People stamped their feet so hard the rafters rattled.

‘I think we should examine all our options,’ another person said. ‘What would happen if we handed this Burnsides and his faction over, with our apologies?’

An eruption of angry shouting. Magnus caught sight of Julia’s enraged face as he raised his hand for quiet.

‘No,’ he said. ‘We have to answer every question. Magistrate, you know Kalen’s character. What _would_ happen?’

‘The trouble is that there’s nothing you can _give_ Kalen for which he will _give_ clemency in exchange,’ the magistrate answered. ‘He thinks he’s owed everything already.’

‘We’re deluded if we think he’ll forgive,’ said the woman who’d spoken before. ‘And there’s something else. This is a craftspeople’s town. Why do the caravans hike up here eight times a year to supply us? Because we sell them things nobody else can make as well. If we lose a dozen of our best artisans, and the goodwill of the district, we’ll lose everything that keeps this city vital.’

‘We had our own little parliament in the Craftsmen’s Corridor,’ the cooper spoke up. ‘Our position is that if you won’t defend the city, we’ll just defend the Corridor. Dying in battle will probably be less messy than whatever Kalen’s got planned for us. My apprentice is seventeen. I’ll not see her tortured to death.’

‘Let’s put it to vote, then,’ Magnus said. ‘Who intends to resist Kalen?’

A forest of hands rose.

‘Right,’ Magnus said. ‘The captain of the militia will tell us how we can do that.’

*     *     *

Before the sun was fully up, twenty soldiers in the livery of Kalen’s personal guard were blowing bugles in front of the gate. An Orcish woman was wearing the captain’s regalia now; Magnus, watching from the walls, thought she looked rather uneasy about it. He tried not to think about the old captain, lying sprawled on the pavement with that bony white cut in his forehead. The orc woman’s voice echoed faintly up the walls, reading a demand that Magnus Burnsides, Sal Carthy and a dozen others be immediately surrendered to her, and that her unit be allowed to search the Craftsmen’s Corridor for insurgents and a suspected stockpile of weapons.

What felt like half the city was standing on the walls as the magistrate walked out of the gate to negotiate with Kalen’s men. She delivered their own list of counterdemands: full clemency for all involved, and Kalen’s immediate abdication in light of his various unlawful actions.

The orcish captain leaned down confidingly from her horse, and the air was so still that the people on the walls could hear what she was saying.

‘Are these barbarians holding you hostage? No need to throw in your lot with them; we’ll have this taken care of in two days. Come back to the encampment with us.’

‘Take her,’ someone near Magnus muttered. ‘We don’t need Kalen’s flunky here!’

But the magistrate was shaking her head. The orc’s expression turned ugly; Magnus realised that she was seriously considering cutting the magistrate down with her sword. Then she collected herself and spat in the dirt at the magistrate’s feet.

‘Tell your rabble to pray to the gods for mercy,’ she shouted, looking up at the wall. ‘You’ll get none from the governor.’

She wheeled her horse, and Kalen’s party cantered away.

The next message arrived by carrier pigeon at around ten o’clock. The magistrate summarised it for Magnus and the other rebel leaders as they bustled around the hall.

‘Supplying the town has been made illegal,’ she said. ‘Functionally what that means is that the last caravan of the year isn’t coming.’

‘Well, we knew that,’ Magnus shrugged. ‘How’s the rationing going?’

‘We’ve catalogued the militia’s foodstuffs and seized everything that would have been sold at the harvest festival,’ Ben said. ‘Vendors’ve been paid out of what would’ve been Kalen’s autumn taxes. I’ve drawn up a per person per day food allowance. It’s…a pretty tight budget, so far, but more edibles might surface. You really want people to surrender their stores, you’d better get on that today, Burnsides.’

‘Absolutely next thing,’ Magnus agreed. ‘What else does the letter say?’

‘Anybody trying to enter or leave the city will be shot on sight…’ the Magistrate continued. Julia actually guffawed. ‘Death penalty for you, me, both Waxmen, several others; the right to search for weapons and insurgents…that basically means they can trash the place and arrest whoever they want…and it ends with a lot of bluster and a promise to storm the town and put it to the sword. Well, they _can’t_ do the first, and they won’t do the second if they want another copper of revenue from us. Our chances are still slim, but if anybody can win this for us it’s Kalen. I could almost kiss him.’

Next, Magnus decided to walk around the city and visit people. He knew that he needed to make himself as visible as possible; get people to donate their food, get them to join the militia, get them onside. Sal, Ben and Julia came with him. Magnus was sure that he wasn’t the only person who found Julia charming, and Sal was about the most popular militiawoman in the city.

‘You nervous?’ Sal asked. Magnus nodded.

‘He should be,’ Ben growled. ‘The moment people get a taste of hardship they’re going to tear him apart.’

Sal gave him a sharp jab in the gut with her truncheon. ‘Ignore this old sourpuss,’ she said. ‘You know most of these people. Everyone in town likes you. Just talk to them like you normally would.’

The carter who had attacked Kalen had a widow, and Magnus visited her first. In truth he had mixed feelings about the man who’d done something so rash and said it was because of him, but now he was trying to sell the whole town on fighting Kalen, and that meant treating anyone who’d done it first as a hero.

Plenty of gawkers had gathered on their tail by the time they arrived at the widow’s house, and they all saw Magnus embrace her in the doorway while Sal and Julia patted her shoulders and Ben looked on, grim-faced.

‘I’m sorry,’ Magnus told her. ‘It was brave, what your husband tried to do. Did he tell you?’

‘Only that he was doing something important and not to wait up.’ The woman was weeping freely, wiping her eyes over and over as she spoke. ‘I know it wasn’t your fault, he talked about you but he never said you told him to do it. I don’t know why he told Kalen that.’

‘Kalen was about to kill him,’ Magnus said. ‘We can’t be blamed for the things we say when we’re facing death.’

‘Do you think they were hurting him before they killed him?’ the woman asked.

‘I don’t know,’ Magnus sighed. ‘But the way he was killed…it was cruel and illegal. And Kalen’s going to answer for it.’

‘Is there anything you need?’ Ben asked gruffly. The woman admitted that she was worried about food, now that she’d lost her husband’s income. Ben explained about the rationing plan, and several onlookers piped up about stores they were willing to share. Ben made notes in a ledger and set a time for a cart to come around.

It went as well as Magnus had hoped, and better than the others had led him to expect. Onlookers followed them wherever they went, and so when he met people who didn’t want to share what they had, he didn’t have to argue. He just let the audience do its work.

‘Good haul,’ Sal said, peering over Ben’s shoulder at the ledger. ‘Let’s hope they all actually cough up when the cart comes round. Can you think of anywhere else worth asking?’

‘Let’s see Vera,’ Ben said. ‘Who else stockpiles that much sugar?’

‘Do we need sugar?’ Julia said. Ben gave her a sardonic smile.

‘You lie in ambush in a ditch all night, miss breakfast and then come and tell me if you need sugar,’ he said. He led them back into the main square. Magnus immediately saw Vera, sweeping the step in front of her shop. It was the first time he’d seen her since she’d left Steven’s house after pulling him out of the fight with Kalen. He felt a surge of affection for her. Together with Sal, she’d been the first to stand up to Kalen.

‘Vera!’ he called.

Every head in the square turned, Vera’s included. People started to point and talk eagerly, and to look for the person he’d greeted. Vera froze, clutching her broom. Magnus waved. Vera gave a tense nod, and a smile that was more like a grimace, turned and walked into the shop, shutting the door with a snap.

The square went quiet, smiles dying on the faces of the people who’d followed them in. Magnus felt a chill that had nothing to do with the autumnal weather. He was floored, and he knew he had to not look it.

Sal marched across the square and rapped Vera’s door. ‘Vera,’ she growled, ‘let us in.’

Nothing happened.

‘I know you didn’t just shut this door in my face,’ Sal said. ‘Come on, how long’ve we known each other?’

The door swung open once again, and Vera appeared. She looked coldly down at Sal. Sal glowered right back.

‘Let us in,’ she said. ‘Come on, you can chew me out if you want, say whatever it is you’re clearly dying to say. Just don’t leave us standing here in the street, for the love of all the gods.’

‘That’d look pretty bad for your little public relations tour, wouldn’t it?’ Vera said. ‘Alright, get inside.’

The four of them hurried into the sweet shop, and Vera closed the door behind them with a snap.

‘Alright,’ Sal said. She pushed a glass jar of humbugs to one side so that she could sit on the counter, putting her face level with Vera’s. ‘Spit it out. What’s eating you?’

Vera looked at her for a moment, shook her head and then addressed Magnus instead.

‘I took a pretty big risk for you the other day,’ she said. ‘I know it probably doesn’t seem like that to you. You seem to think putting your life in danger is a kind of hobby. But stepping out into the middle of a brawl? Helping out someone the governor’s got his sights on? For us ordinary folks, that’s a dangerous thing. Guess I hoped you’d appreciate it.’

‘I…I did,’ Magnus said. ‘I’d’ve been badly hurt if it wasn’t for you.’

‘You’ll be badly hurt despite me,’ Vera said. ‘What the _hell_ do you think you’re doing? Showboating around the town, whipping people up because you’ve got some kind of grudge against the governor – ’

‘A grudge?’ Magnus floundered. ‘I – he hurts people! He’s a monster!’

‘He’s a _ruler_ , Magnus,’ Vera said. ‘That’s what they do. They spend one month in twelve in their holding, kick a few people around, set a few taxes, and we keep our heads down and life goes on. Or it did until you started kicking up a fuss.’

‘Look,’ Magnus said, ‘I got arrested, the craftspeople came and saved my ass. I didn’t ask them to do that! Dozens of people Kalen can have arrested and killed now. I’ve got to protect them somehow!’

‘Oh, of course!’ Vera said bitterly. ‘Start a revolution to save a dozen people, and when a hundred end up dead, at least your conscience will be clear because you “did something.” Who the hell do you think you are, acting like you can lead people?’

‘He’s not…we’re not doing this because we think we’re better than anyone else,’ Julia said. ‘This got away from us, alright? You should have seen the crowd last night, they were crazy. There’d have been a riot, they’d have killed whoever they could get their hands on and then Kalen’s men would have swanned in and picked us off. Magnus was the only person they’d listen to. He _has_ to do this! And it’s not just…we’ve got a plan!’

‘A pretty desperate plan, admittedly,’ Ben spoke up. ‘Due respect, Vera, but you’re talking like an elf. You think all leadership is tyranny, but it’s not. The city of Rockport has a good governor and they’re at the cutting edge of innovation now. Goldcliff has a council, they govern themselves. Raven’s Roost has Kalen, and he’s riding us into the ground. And it may just be a flash in the pan for you, but for these human kids, for me? It’s our whole life.’

‘And you’re talking like a woman with no dependents,’ Sal added. ‘You keep your head down and pay your taxes, huh? Every damned year, it gets harder for me to bring up my kids. Steven Waxmen couldn’t send Julia to school. He can’t pay Magnus what he’s worth.’

‘If saving people is bad and only leads to more trouble,’ Magnus said, ‘then why did you even help me?’

Vera made a face. ‘Because it was the right thing to do,’ she said.

The onlookers in the square saw Vera wave Magnus and the others off fifteen minutes later, with a grim smile and a promise to surrender all the sugar she had in stock.

‘Thank you,’ Magnus said fervently, clasping her hand. ‘Listen, the other people who aren’t sure about all this…please tell them you’re reconsidering? I hate this, I hate having to tell people it’s going to be alright when it’s probably not but…this isn’t going to work unless we believe it will.’

‘The power of positive thinking,’ Vera muttered. ‘Alright, I’ll do what I can,’’

 ‘Never thought it’d work this well,’ Ben said as they headed back to the town hall and its makeshift barracks. ‘Thought the whole town’d already have thought better of it. But it seems like they really believe in this kid.’

‘You’re chipper,’ Sal grinned.

‘I can take a win when it comes,’ Ben said. ‘So, chief Magnus, what’s the next step in the plan?’

‘How soon can Kalen bring forces against us?’ Magnus asked.

‘Assuming he sends a messenger bird to Neverwinter, rather than riding all the way there and back,’ Ben said, ‘I’d say three days minimum. One day to jump through the hoops, two days to march them back.’

‘In that case,’ Magnus said, ‘we’ve got a day to get our training regimen underway. We all did our national service, but I know I’m pretty rusty. And then I’m leading a scouting mission. We’ll climb out of the city, watch the road, and as soon as Kalen brings forces within a day’s march of us, we’ll know exactly what we’re dealing with. Julia…’

‘Will I guide the expedition?’ Julia asked with a slow smile. ‘Yes. Absolutely _hell yes_.’

 


	5. The Escape

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Please leave a comment! They motivate me to continue. I welcome criticism as well.

The timeline Ben had laid out gave them a short window to get training and supplies set up. The captain of the militia set up a program of drilling and weapons training, putting one of the militia’s best wizards in charge of magical training, and Ben in charge of teaching what he knew about guerrilla warfare. Magnus was realising how little he knew about Ben; all that he had heard was that, unlike the majority of the militia, who had been policing Raven’s Roost their whole lives, Ben had been in a real war at some point. He didn’t even know which one – skirmishes between city states had been common enough on Faerun in their parents’ day, though the Lord of Neverwinter had kept things more or less under control since Magnus had been old enough to pay attention. Whatever the story, it seemed to have given Ben a pretty good grasp of fighting in forest, against superior numbers, as well as teaching him his way around most weapons.

Magnus joined the other volunteers in weapons training, relearning what he’d been taught during his two years’ service to the city. He was less rusty than he’d feared. He found that he was most comfortable with a battle axe, perhaps because it was similar to the tools he used in his work, and by the end of the day Ben was grumbling loudly about his proficiency.

‘I think your boy was a merc before he rolled up here,’ he said darkly to Steven. ‘Look at him swing that thing.’

‘He’s pretty tight-lipped about where he came from, that’s for sure,’ Steven said.

‘I got in a lot of fights at school,’ Magnus said, swinging his axe in the pattern Ben had taught him. Ben just raised his eyebrows.

The Hammer and Tongs was working from dawn till dusk. With Magnus training constantly, Meg was doing his job; she and Steven were working to churn out spear and arrow shafts. Carts came and went constantly from the blacksmith and the fletcher. The armoury was full of the smell of new wood, milled so hastily that the militiamen kept complaining about splinters.

Julia was working with the militia to come up with a plan for their scouting mission. The captain had looked Julia over and wondered aloud whether she was really the best mountaineer they had, and she’d scrambled up the ornamental carvings on the town hall walls and dangled off a rafter while Steven roared for her to come down and Magnus put his head in his hands to try and hide how hard he was laughing.

‘People like her,’ the magistrate said, looking speculatively up at Julia and then sidelong at Magnus. ‘Let her get us some information.’

The morning of the day when the enemy was expected dawned misty, with a sharp nip of frost in the air. The watchmen had spotted a gleaming campfire on the horizon the night before, right on schedule. Magnus and Julia met with the militia soldiers who had been chosen to join them on the front stoop of the workshop. Since their usual business was policing the city, not waging war outside it, the militia had little use for woodcraft, but the captain had managed to find two soldiers who knew something about it. One was a dour man named Parry. Magnus had learned that he was unmarried, childless, and rented lodgings, despite being in his thirties. He spent almost every off-duty moment he had in the forest, trapping fur, along with most of the meat he ate. The other was a woman, a spellcaster named Lenka. She knew the communication spells they would need to let the city know if they found anything useful – or if they got into trouble.

Steven was at the door to see them off.

‘We’ll send a message every six hours,’ Julia said to him. ‘Don’t worry.’

Steven only scowled at that. Magnus wondered if he trusted himself to speak. He hugged Julia briefly, shook hands with Magnus and the two soldiers, and then the four of them were clattering away down the silent, misty street.

‘What route’re we taking out of the city?’ Parry the forester grunted.

‘We’re avoiding the roads, just in case,’ Julia said. ‘There’s a path along here…’

They followed the street until they reached the place where the cliff met the city wall, and found a little gully, more of a steep scramble than a climb, leading down.

‘Didn’t know this was here,’ Lenka remarked as they clambered down single file.

‘City’s full of little ways like this,’ Parry said. ‘Useful for those as lives nearby, but not worth mapping. Besieging us’s a joke. So what’s the plan?’

They had come down where the city met the cliff, on the opposite side from the main gate. Above them the cliff rose, piling rock upon rock until it reared up into a mountain, its peak glowing white with snow against the twilit sky, its arms flung round the city. In front and to the right the cliffs marched away southward into the distance, slumping into foothills and rocky outcroppings, all of it cloaked in forest. To the left the land flattened out somewhat, forming a rough, grassy plain in front of the city gate. Here the rain and meltwater from the cliffs collected themselves into a river that bent round the city, keeping it watered. The main road approached around the end of the foothills, bent north-east to avoid the worst of the forest and rough terrain, and approached Raven’s Roost across the plain, bridging the river and running up to the main gate. Heavily laden troops would have to stick to it. But the citizens of Raven’s Roost could exit the city almost anywhere they wanted, and cut across country as they pleased.

 ‘We’re going to hike out to the point where the caravans stop to water,’ Julia said. ‘It’s a day’s journey from the city by the main road, but we can make it in a few hours if we cut through the woods. We just need your guidance to make good time. Stands to reason Kalen’s men will make camp there, and then we can get a good look at them. And then we’ve got a day to plan based on what we find out.’

‘Right,’ Parry said. They set off into the trees.

For the first few hours they walked quietly, Parry choosing the best path through the undergrowth, Lenka speaking only to cast her first communication spell at midday. Magnus watched them surreptitiously. He was rougher round the edges than most people he knew, but he still felt polished next to Parry. Lenka looked tough as nails as well. Magnus hoped they didn’t think he was soft. Judging by the stiffness of Julia’s spine, she was feeling the same.

Finally, they reached the road and the watering place Julia had mentioned. Parry and Lenka cast around with woodcraft and revealing spells, but found no sign that anyone had passed that way yet. They found a hollow safely out of sight and settled down to wait.

The afternoon sun had burned away the mist and was turning the air a pleasant autumn gold. Magnus started to relax. It was impossible to stay constantly tense and nervous, when the enemy might be hours away yet.

‘Why do you spend so much time in the forest?’ he asked Parry.

‘There’s good money in fur,’ Parry answered.

‘Then why do you work for the militia?’ Julia asked.

‘Because there’s steady money there.’

‘You’re an odd duck, Parry,’ Lenka said. ‘It’s not natural, spending so much time grubbing about out of doors.’

‘It used to be the main living up here,’ Parry said, ‘afore the city got known for its crafts. And that was nice for a while, but their lordships in Neverwinter always cotton on eventually when a city gets rich.’

‘Kalen,’ Magnus said heavily.

‘Bloody parasite. When he’s sucked us dry, those who survive’ll live as I do again, I’ll wager.’

‘Or we might beat him,’ Julia said.

‘Hmph. Well, I’m game for a try,’ Parry said. ‘Can you smell woodsmoke?’

Magnus had to sniff intently before he caught it. A moment later they heard noises as well, faint metallic clangs and human voices drifting towards them on the afternoon breeze. Lenka signed to them to be quiet, then pointed towards the road. The four of them crept forward, half-crouching. Parry moved silently, and the others tried to mimic him. Julia was best at it. Magnus’ feet felt three sizes two big.

They crawled to the top of a rocky outcropping and peered over its edge. Water fell in a noisy cataract beside them and formed a chattering stream by the road. Beside it, a crowd of soldiers in Neverwinter uniform were just starting to make camp. One soldier was coaxing a stack of kindling into flame. Another was unhitching a horse from a canvas-covered cart, and leading it over to the stream to drink. A woman pulled back the canvas on the cart, checking that the load hadn’t shifted. Magnus saw dozens of crossbows, sturdy and gleaming.

He tried his best to count heads as the soldiers milled around. _Fifty_ , he mouthed to the others, holding up five fingers. They nodded.

‘I’d like to get my hands on one of those,’ Lenka breathed, looking at the crossbows.

Julia thumped Magnus on the shoulder and pointed. Magnus followed her hand, and felt the bottom drop out of his stomach. An orcish soldier was walking purposefully towards them.

 _Keep still!_ Parry mouthed. The four of them crouched motionless in the brush. The soldier came within a few yards of them, then passed them by. He stopped at the foot of a tree and unbuttoned. Julia looked quickly away. Magnus sagged in relief. The soldier hadn’t spotted them. He’d just wanted some privacy…

The orc sniffed, once, twice, then strode to the edge of the overhang and shouted down,

‘Hey! I think I smell humans.’

Should they bolt? Magnus made to move and felt Lenka’s hand on his arm, forcing him back down.

Another soldier scrambled up to join the orcish man.

‘Fresh or old?’ he asked.

‘Can’t tell. It’s too windy.’

‘Probably just a stray hunter. The city’s under curfew, but there’s nobody to enforce it until we show up. Still, suppose we’d better see what we can find, teach ’em some respect. You soldiers! Arm yourselves!’

The soldiers turned their backs to shout their orders. Parry jerked his head. The four of them burst into motion, scrambling away into the undergrowth. As soon as they were out of sight of the outcrop, they broke into a crouching run.

‘We’re too close to the cliff,’ Lenka grunted as they ran. ‘They’ll make a ring, trap us against the cliff, then close in.’

‘Can we climb, girl?’ Parry said.

‘Not here,’ Julia said. ‘It’s a bad one.’

‘Up a tree, maybe?’ Magnus said.

Parry shook his head. ‘We’re trapped if they find us.’

‘Just run,’ Lenka said. ‘Try to get outside their radius before they form up, or slip between them before they tighten the ring…’

‘The brush’s been disturbed,’ a voice shouted faintly behind them. ‘Someone was here!’

Magnus put on a fresh burst of speed. He felt sure that anyone for miles around would be able to hear them crashing through the undergrowth. They were running parallel to where he reckoned the cliff to be, racing to get clear of the net the Neverwinter soldiers were going to throw around them.

Parry threw out an arm to stop them running. As soon as he was still, Magnus heard what he had; the crack of twigs under booted feet. They were too late. They’d been surrounded. Kalen’s men were beating through the woods, tightening the semicircle around them.

‘Try to slip between them?’ Julia whispered.

‘We can rush them!’ Magnus said.

Lenka reached for a spell, then spat. ‘One of their wizards is sensing for magic,’ she said. ‘I cast one cantrip and every magician in that army knows our position.’

‘Double back,’ Parry rasped. ‘Find a hiding spot.’

They stole back the way they’d come, drifting slowly to the right as they tried to keep their distance from the encroaching circle of soldiers. The cliff loomed up so suddenly out of the trees that they almost ran right into it.

‘ _Fuck!_ ’ Lenka said.

‘We’ve got to get off the ground,’ Parry said to Julia.

‘ _It’s too sheer here!_ ’ Julia said, running her hands distractedly through her hair. ‘Oh gods, they’re going to catch us any _second_ and the people back home need us and – ’

‘Julia, you’ll find us a way up,’ Magnus said.

‘I don’t know,’ Julia moaned. ‘I only came this way once or twice, there’s no way to climb _down_ to the ground and that means there’s no way to climb _up_ , the nearest chute I know is half a goddamned _mile_ along the cliff-face – ’

‘Julia. You’re better at this than anyone I know. Cliffs everyone else thinks are impossible and you go up them like they’re nothing. Don’t worry, if they find us we’ll hold them off. Just look at the rocks. You can figure it out. Just look.’

Julia squeezed her eyes and mouth tight shut, nodded once and then turned to scan the cliff face. Magnus stood listening intently, his bow half-drawn, the other two flanking him. He had no idea whether they could really hold the soldiers off for long, but Julia seemed to be breathing easier, and that was the main thing. She paced slowly at the foot of the cliff, staring intently upwards. At last she said,

‘It looks fairly doable from about ten feet up. You could work your way along and rejoin one of the routes I know. But there’s just no way to get off the ground.’

‘What if I gave you a boost?’ Magnus said. ‘We’re both tall. Then you tie the rope off to something and pull us up.’

‘It’s not that simple…’

‘Well, better than all four of us stuck down here,’ Magnus said. ‘Come on, show me where you want up.’

A sudden baying erupted in the woods behind them. Kalen’s men had set loose dogs on their scent. The barking sounded horribly close.

Julia strode back to the cliff face. Her momentary panic was gone.

‘Here,’ she said. ‘There’s a choke stone. A boulder, wedged in that crack. I can put the rope around it. It’ll have to do. Help me up.’

Magnus crouched, as close to the rock face as he could get. Julia put a foot on his shoulder, paused to find her balance, then brought the other foot up to join it. Magnus grabbed her calf to steady her, and Julia put one hand on the rock face. Magnus pushed from the thighs, slowly lifting her up until he was standing at his full height. He didn’t dare look up and throw off her balance, but he could feel her weight shifting as she looked for a handhold.

‘Got it,’ she whispered. Her heel bit into his shoulder as she pushed off him, and then her weight vanished. Magnus stepped back and looked up, saw her dangling by her fingertips from some crevice almost too small for him to see, her feet scrabbling for purchase on the rock. By what looked like main force of will she dragged herself up another foot, until she reached a ledge just wide enough for her feet, with the choke stone she’d pointed out just above it.  She unhooked her rope, lashed it expertly around the stone and sent it snaking down to pool at Magnus’ feet. Magnus looked up, seeing the worried glance she threw at the anchor she’d made. The stone wasn’t much bigger than his head. Would it hold? It wasn’t a very high climb, he reminded himself. The worst that would happen is that he’d land on his ass back at the foot of the cliff – in front of a hungry pack of Kalen’s dogs.

He began to climb. The rope slipped one terrifying inch, then held. Magnus scrambled up hand over hand, joining Julia on her ledge. It was so narrow that he couldn’t even get his whole foot on it. Lenka and Parry followed them up. Magnus and Julia shuffled sideways along the ledge, trying to make room.

‘Gotta climb higher, get out of sight,’ Julia said. She was craning her neck to look down at the ground. Magnus didn’t know how she wasn’t dropping off the cliff from vertigo. She started to climb, and Magnus followed suit. There were handholds enough, now that they were past the first few sheer feet, though none of them were more than a few centimetres deep. They scrambled upwards for about a minute, until they heard voices in the clearing below them. All of them froze.

‘Any sign of them?’ a voice shouted.

‘Reckon they shinned up the cliff? Scent trail goes cold here.’

‘No, there’s no way up…’

Magnus held perfectly still, splayed against the rock like a spider on a wall. His arms were trembling with the effort of clinging on. But they had climbed high enough that the slight incline of the cliff hid them from the soldiers on the ground.

‘Sod it,’ one of the soldiers said. ‘If they climbed up there I’m not following them. Let them run back to their bolt-hole; won’t do them much good.’

The sounds of men and dogs slowly retreated. Magnus turned his head, catching Julia’s eye.

‘You see that spur?’ she said, jerking her head towards an outcropping of rock. ‘Beyond that it flattens out a bit; more of a stiff hike than a climb. And from there we should be able to work our way back towards a climb I know. You all ready?’   
  
‘I’m not used to this kind of work,’ Parry said. ‘I don’t know if I can manage it…’

‘The hardest part’s already over,’ Magnus said. ‘Julia’ll get us out. Just step where she steps.’

Slowly, painfully, they inched their way across the cliff face. Magnus could pull his own weight up easily, but this was different; he was only clinging on by the tips of his fingers. He felt sweat beading on his forehead. One slip at this height and he could break a leg, or worse. He imagined lying helpless on the forest floor, Julia refusing to leave him, the soldiers finding them again, the revolution grinding to a halt without them. He tightened his grip on the rock.

Ten minutes later, they made it over the spur, and rested in a narrow trench between two walls of rock. The cliff that Raven’s Roost was built against was actually the sheer side of a mountain that threw two arms around the city. They’d made it to the end of one of those arms, and they could see the city rising above the treeline, a couple of miles distant. A waste of rock, horribly steep, separated them from it.

‘Think we should head back down to ground level and hike it?’ Magnus asked.

‘Do you think we can make the climb?’ Julia said.

‘Do _you_ think we can make the climb?’

‘Yes. I know the route from here, and there’s places to rest. If we get caught on the ground, we’re sunk.’

It was exhausting work, inching across a distance that would have been an easy stroll on foot. Magnus followed in Julia’s wake, placing his hands exactly where she showed him. Sometimes the only possible handhold was out of her reach, and Parry, who was the tallest, crossed first under her direction and used the rope to bring the others up after him. Their hands stung and smarted. None of them spoke beyond an occasional instruction.

Finally they were right in the shadow of the city. Magnus could see where living rock gave way to stonework, the buildings crowding right to the brink. The back streets of the city were planted solidly on a shelf in the cliff, and then it went leaping away down its maze of bridges, supported by the six great pillars built with magic and maintained by master craftsman every quarter-year. Even exhausted as he was, Magnus felt a surge of love and pride as he looked at it. The city was too beautiful to have some tyrant sucking the wealth out of it.

Julia pointed up. A final, almost vertical climb led up to a crenelated wall that they might be able to scramble over. Looking up at it, Magnus felt his legs turn to water.

‘I’ll go up, I’ve done this one a million times,’ Julia said. ‘I’ll drop a rope down for you.’

If it had been anyone else, Magnus would have insisted on climbing up himself, maybe even going first. But he found that he liked Julia helping him.

‘Okay,’ he agreed. ‘You did amazing.’ He was so tired and full of adrenaline that the compliment slipped out easily. Julia gave him a smile that finally did for his knees, and he sank down on an uncomfortable little knob of rock, watching with tired admiration as she began the final climb. She went up like a monkey, all long limbs, did an incredible jump and swing to cover the final reach up to the rampart, and rolled out of sight. A moment later several faces of militiamen appeared over the wall, faces moving from worry to incredulity to delight.

‘He’s really back!’ one of them bawled over his shoulder. ‘They’re all back! You did it, miss, I can’t believe you did it.’ Julia appeared beside him, grinning. The militiamen were trying to pat her on the back and lower a rope all at once. Magnus got to his feet, letting the other two climb up before bringing up the rear. _And now I look caring in the eyes of those militiamen up there_ , he thought. _I’m getting the hang of this. The magistrate would be proud_.

Hand over hand up the rope, strength coming back into his tired muscles at the sight of safety so near, and then a half dozen hands were reaching out to haul him over the rampart. There was a little gatehouse up here, looking out over the forest below, and what seemed like every occupant of it was milling around them, clamouring with questions.

‘We found Kalen’s men,’ Magnus said, ‘and they nearly found us, but I don’t think they know for sure we were spying on them. We saw some useful stuff; think we’ve got a plan for what to do with it.’

‘We thought you were done for when we didn’t get your evening message,’ a militiawoman said.

‘They were sensing for magic; I didn’t dare cast anything,’ Lenka explained.

‘The town got worried,’ the militiawoman continued. ‘We thought we’d bitten off more than we could chew. But you gave them the slip! Private!’ – to a younger man – ‘Go spread the word that they’re back.’

‘It was Julia,’ Lenka said. ‘She climbs like a cat. Without her we’d have been done for, for sure.’

The militiamen pressed around them with questions, _you didn’t really make it up that rockface, never, it’s unscalable_ and _didn’t even know you could climb up to this guard post_ and _who taught you, did you figure the whole route yourself_ , and next moment someone was leading three cheers for Julia. Magnus looked at her in the midst of the hubbub, proud and flustered and glowing, and felt giddy with love.

‘I got scared,’ she said, ‘but Magnus wouldn’t let me panic. He knew I could figure it out.’

And suddenly everyone was back on Magnus, like him just knowing Julia was enough to make them trust him more. Which was a good thing, he reminded himself. Come to think of it, he’d never imagined Julia admitting she was scared before now. She knew what she was doing. He glanced at her and she flashed him a smile, making his heart turn over.

While most of the militiamen reluctantly returned to their posts, two of them escorted the scouting party down to the town hall, where most of those who had volunteered to expand the militia were waiting. The centre of the town was crowded with civilians too, waiting for news and to see the returning party with their own eyes. The magistrate let them spend a good half hour talking and laughing with the volunteers before she pulled them into a quiet back room, together with Ben, Sal and the captain of the militia, to talk.

‘What’s the intelligence?’ she asked without preamble.

‘We found Kalen’s party,’ Parry said, reporting military fashion. ‘About fifty men in Neverwinter livery, hauling weapons.’

‘Well, fifty’s not nearly enough,’ the magistrate said. ‘My guess is that the Lord of Neverwinter is only allowing him limited resources on the state’s coin. He’ll be pulling in his own mercenaries from elsewhere; it’s usual for a governor to foot at least part of the bill if there’s problems in his jurisdiction. Sloppy to send them on over in drips and drabs though. Lets us divide and conquer. Gods, the man’s an idiot. What else?’

‘They’ve got spears and crossbows in a couple of covered wagons,’ Parry continued. ‘Real nice ones.’

‘Only the main road’ll be passable for them,’ Julia said. ‘And I know the perfect spot along it for an ambush.’

‘We waylay them on the trail,’ Magnus took over. He and Julia had outlined the plan together as they walked to the town hall. ‘As little bloodshed as possible, we take the weapons cart. The Neverwinter soldiers can’t mount an attack without their gear, they find out Kalen doesn’t know strategy and walked them into a trap. And we’ve got fifty new spears and fifty crossbows to fight back with.’

‘Due respect,’ Lenka said, ‘but I don’t agree with the whole of this plan. The ambush checks out, but I think we ought to hit ’em hard if we’re going to. Covering fifty men with our bows while we disarm them? That’s going to take some doing. And even if we succeed, disarmed men can get resupplied. Seems to me like a waste of time.’

‘We agreed we were going to try and keep this from getting bloody,’ Magnus argued, feeling suddenly foolish. Maybe he really was being naïve. ‘We agreed it was a better _strategy_ to keep it from getting bloody.’

‘You haven’t been to war, have you, Magnus?’ Lenka said evenly. ‘Bloody goes with the territory.’

‘I’m astonished that Neverwinter has provided Kalen with so few men,’ the magistrate said. ‘Of course, this may just be an advanced party, but still.’

‘I knew they wouldn’t support him,’ Julia interjected. ‘They’re as sick of him as we are.’

‘It certainly seems that whatever support he’s getting currently is lukewarm at best,’ the magistrate agreed. ‘However, let me tell you this: if we massacre fifty of Neverwinter’s own men, they’ll send five hundred to avenge them. It’s a surprise, but I’m casting my vote with Burnsides and Miss Waxmen this time. Let’s not escalate the situation.’

‘Well,’ Lenka sighed, ‘the gods know I’m not eager to kill anyone. Alright, whatever you decide.’

‘Good,’ the magistrate said. ‘Then let’s plan. Ben, you’ve got some experience with this sort of thing. When do you think they’ll make it to Miss Waxmen’s spot?’

‘Mid-morning, but we should be in position before dawn,’ Ben said. ‘I’d suggest a force of ten; enough to cover the whole road and make every Neverwinter soldier feel like they’ve got an arrow pointed at them, without getting in each other’s way.’

‘Shouldn’t we have more than that?’ Julia asked. ‘This might be the only chance we get to fight Kalen’s men and _not_ be outnumbered.’

Ben shook his head. ‘If this goes cleanly ten’ll be plenty, and if it turns into a pitched battle we’d need more than even numbers to win it. These are crack soldiers and they’re better armed than us. We’d lose more fighters than we could afford. At least this way we lose ten at most.’

Julia bit her lip. She looked about how Magnus felt. The idea of ten people dying – ten people they knew – suddenly felt horribly real.

‘One more thing,’ the magistrate said. ‘Miss Waxmen, it’s my advice that you don’t join the expedition tomorrow.’

Julia blinked. ‘Well, no,’ she said. ‘I mean, I’m not afraid to go, but I don’t have much training…’

‘That’s settled then,’ the magistrate said. ‘Burnsides, Hastings, you’ve got an hour to hand-pick your team. Burnsides, follow Hastings’ advice, but make sure they feel like you chose them. We’ll have a final strategy meeting in my office at – ’

‘Wait,’ Julia said, ‘you’re sending Magnus but not me?’

‘Yes.’

‘We’ve got the same training! If it’s too dangerous for me it’s too dangerous for him!’

‘No, I get it,’ Magnus said. ‘Julia, you’re smart, you actually know stuff, but me…people like me because they think I do brave stuff, right? So I’ve got to go out and do something brave.’

‘Precisely,’ the magistrate said. ‘Besides, I’m not putting all my eggs in one basket again. We nearly lost both of you today, and Miss Waxmen, if anything happens to Burnsides I think you and your father are the only two people who’d have a hope of replacing him in the people’s eyes. You’re more use in here, he’s more use out there.’

Julia bowed her head, lips pressed tightly together. She looked miserable, but she didn’t argue.

News of the ambush caused high excitement in the makeshift barracks that had been made of the town hall. People were falling over themselves to volunteer. Magnus said something about appreciating their courage and how it would be needed soon enough, and then he and Ben chose from among the volunteers.

‘Pick people you like the look of,’ Ben said. ‘I know you don’t want them hurt, but everyone’s in danger now. Gotta have a team that can work together.’

Magnus picked Renee the spellsmith and another artisan from the craftsmen’s corridor. He remembered that they’d both been in battles, and Renee told him proudly that she’d been getting back into the swing of offensive magic since the night of his arrest. Ben chose the rest from among the militia. Then they went to the magistrate’s private meeting chamber, where Ben, Julia and the captain of the militia between them hashed out the final plan. The chosen spot was ideal, thickly wooded and overlooked by an outcropping of rock, but not so hemmed in that the Neverwinter soldiers would be looking for an ambush. Renee knew a spell which would mask their scent from the dogs. The only point of contention was over whether to arm the party with crossbows or short bows.

‘You’re thinking in terms of how you’d defend the city walls,’ Ben told the captain. ‘Crossbows are good for shooting people in full armour, over a long distance. But there’s going to be ten of us in close quarters against fifty of them. You want to shoot one man, then spend two minutes winding up your clockwork toy before you shoot again? Let me know how that goes for you.’

Ben carried his point. Magnus reminded him to speak courteously, and the captain looked mollified. Then the magistrate adjourned the meeting, asking Julia to stay back and discuss climbing routes with the captain, and advising the rest of them to get some sleep.

‘Thought you were the leader here,’ one of the women they’d chosen muttered to Magnus as they left the meeting room. ‘She’s getting a little uppity given she was basically Kalen’s right-hand lady.’

‘I need her advice,’ Magnus answered. ‘I’m just a carpenter, after all.’ He made a mental note to remind the magistrate of what she’d said about not appearing to be in charge.

He went and found himself a bedroll in the barracks, up against a wall and out of the way. It would be better to sleep with the militia, given how early they had to leave the next day. People came to talk to him at once, but left him almost deferentially alone when he said that he was resting up for action the very next day. He lay down but couldn’t sleep. His stomach kept doing flips. He was going to be in a real battle – a very small one, but a real battle nonetheless – someone was going to put a killing weapon into his hands and he might have to take life with it. The threat of pain had never impressed him much, but having to lie quietly and contemplate it was still unpleasant.

‘Magnus?’

Magnus looked up. Julia was standing over him, shadowy in the faint beam of moonlight that lit the hall.

‘Hey Jules,’ he mumbled, sitting up and putting his back against the wall.

‘Can’t sleep?’ she asked, sliding down beside him.

‘Not so much.’

‘Renee said to bring you this,’ she said, offering him a steaming cup. ‘It’s spelled for three hours’ sleep, so you’ll have no trouble waking up in time.’

‘Thanks.’ Magnus took the cup and sipped it. It tasted of chamomile. ‘…are you okay?’

Julia snorted. ‘Me? Are _you_ okay?’

‘A little nervous,’ Magnus admitted. ‘I just…I hate the thought of hurting anyone. I wish…I wish they’d just give us what we want. Are we asking so much? There’s no sense fighting each other for it.’

‘I hate the thought of hurting anyone too,’ Julia said. She was staring down at her hands, and Magnus suddenly remembered the white glimmer of that soldier’s bone, right after she’d felled him to save Magnus from his sword. ‘You know what I hate even more? I hate the thought of _you_ getting hurt.’

‘I won’t,’ Magnus said, trying to keep his voice from shaking at that.

Julia gave a quiet laugh. ‘I guess I thought…when we decided to go through with this, I thought we’d be doing it together. Didn’t think I’d have to sit here and you’d have to go out there. Stupid, huh?’

‘They need you here, though,’ Magnus said. Before he knew what he was doing he had covered her hand with his own. ‘The _captain_ of the _militia’s_ asking your advice. Gods above, you were brilliant today.’

‘Just…’ Julia squeezed his hand. Her nails were sharp. ‘Come back in one piece, alright? People need to think you’re a hero, you don’t need to actually _be_ a hero.’

‘I’ll be careful,’ Magnus promised. ‘I’ll stand in the back and do as Ben says. No heroics.’

‘Can’t lead us all to freedom if you’re dead,’ Julia said quietly. Magnus was suddenly acutely aware of her hand in his, and the warmth of her body so close to him in the dark. The space between them seemed to thrum with energy. Then Julia got to her feet, shaking out her skirts. Magnus found he’d been leaning towards her. He straightened up and took a hasty gulp of Renee’s potion.

‘I’ll see you tomorrow afternoon,’ Julia said. ‘Bring me a cool dagger off the weapon cart.’

Magnus cracked a smile. ‘I will,’ he promised, then drained his cup and lay back down on the bedroll.

 


	6. The Ambush

The jingle of chain mail and the tramp of feet sounded distantly on the path, and Magnus felt a thrill of excitement and fear run through him. His band had been crouched behind boulders and in the branches of trees since the first dawn light had greyed the sky. He was stiff, cold, bored and afraid. But now Kalen’s men were approaching. It didn’t sound as though they were even trying to be quiet. Magnus sent up a prayer that they weren’t expecting the ambush.

Across the road, Ben gave a hand signal, just a quick white flicker of movement. There was a faint creaking noise as each member of the party nocked an arrow.

The column of men drew into view, marching five abreast, in two blocks of twenty five, a horse-drawn cart piled with military supplies between them. Two soldiers with silver insignias on their armour were leading the column. Magnus couldn’t help but be impressed. The soldiers’ polished gear and stiff formation was a contrast to the Raven’s Roost militia’s more work-a-day appearance, and most of the caravans that did business with the town were drawn by oxen, not horses.

The head of the column was drawing closer to them. Magnus’ every nerve was screaming at him to act, but Ben had impressed upon them the danger of springing the trap too early. He’d said to wait until the column was right between their lines. They waited…the lead soldiers were passing right beneath him…they waited…he could count the rings on their chain mail…Ben’s hand swiped down – _now_.

Their fighters sprang out of their hiding places, those in the trees dropping to the ground to block the soldiers’ retreat while those on the rocky outcrop covered them from above.

‘Freeze!’ Magnus shouted, as loudly as he could. The captain of the Neverwinter soldiers reacted faster than anybody else, snatching her crossbow. She was in the section Magnus was supposed to be covering. He let his arrow fly, and it hit the back of her hand. He had another arrow on the string before he even registered her scream.

‘The next person who moves,’ he shouted, ‘gets an arrow through the eye. Unbuckle your swords and throw them to the sides of the path.’

He could see every soldier in the line calculating the odds. Ten arrows all pointing at them: a one-in-five chance of being in the first wave to get shot. Slowly, the soldiers obeyed his instructions. Magnus got a closer look at the two in the lead as the second-in-command helped the injured captain with her sword belt. She was middle-aged, grizzled, bearing her pain silently, but the other soldier looked barely older than Magnus. Perhaps this was even his first command: lead a unit of soldiers against a minor rebellion; a rookie assignment.

 _I can’t kill someone like that_ , Magnus thought. _I can’t._

‘Our governor has been taxing us more than we can stand,’ he said. ‘He’s had people arrested and punished without trial. He let you lot walk into an ambush today. We’re taking your weapons to help us fight him. We’ll let you go in peace as long as you don’t resist us. Lie face down with your hands on your heads.’

There was a shuffling as the soldiers tried to spread out enough to obey him. Magnus had had good luck with that first shot. Showing that his fighters could hit a target, but that they didn’t want to kill. The soldiers seemed to have decided that obeying him was the best thing to do.

He jumped down into the road and two of his fighters followed, while the rest held their positions. The cart presented an immediate problem. With the soldiers lying in the road, there was no way to bring it forward, and the woods were thick on either side. The fifty swords now lying discarded on the verge were another difficulty.

‘Ignore the swords for now,’ Ben called. ‘We’ll salvage them later if we can.’

One of Magnus’ men was holding the horse’s bridle, trying to get it to back up. Another was next to him, still covering the Neverwinter soldiers with his bow. Magnus saw his eyes drift from the soldiers to the horse, the tip of his arrow wavering ever so slightly.

In a flash, the young second in command was up on his feet, running at the distracted rebel, pulling a dagger from under his cloak. Magnus dived into his path, and suddenly the two of them were grappling. The dagger flashed in the weak autumn sun. Magnus flinched back, eyes tight shut, and felt the point rake his face. Hot wetness spilled down his cheek. He lashed out blindly. The other man seemed to be everywhere and nowhere at once. And then he heard that same _twang-zip_ , right by his ear. He opened his eyes. The enemy soldier was almost in his arms, dagger raised, mouth open in surprise, an arrow buried in his throat. Magnus went to catch him, to bend over him, to _help_ , remembered just as quickly that that wasn’t what he was supposed to do. The man fell to the ground and didn’t move.

‘ _Do you think we’re joking?_ Ben roared. He already had another arrow ready.

Two other soldiers had lunged for their swords when they saw the young man attack. Renee let fly a fireball, which engulfed one and singed the other, sending him rolling frantically back onto the path. Magnus put a hand to his face. There was no pain yet, but he could feel his pulse pounding in the cut. He didn’t dare try to open his right eye. The burned woman was screaming.

‘That didn’t have to happen!’ he shouted, pointing at the man at his feet. ‘Are you going to die for _Kalen?_ ’

Nobody else tried to rush them. Ben had the soldiers stand up one row at a time and go and reform their column, behind the cart, facing away from the city rather than towards it, and kneeling down. Then he told them to stand up one rank at a time and walk away. The burned woman was barely able to stand. Two of her comrades put their arms around her and helped her to hobble along. Ben wouldn’t let the unit’s healers do anything for her, or for the captain’s hand, until they were well out of range of Raven’s Roost.

As the unit marched out of sight, he made his way back to Magnus.

‘Can you see?’ he asked brusquely. Magnus squinted. The cut was swelling so fast that he could hardly open his right eye, but he managed it, and saw a sliver of tear-blurred vision.

‘Yes,’ he said, weak-kneed with relief.

‘Good,’ Ben growled. ‘Get up in the cart and – ’

‘No, no, I’m fine,’ Magnus said, waving him off. ‘Listen, somebody’s got to get after those soldiers. As soon as they’re away from us they’re going to send a message to whatever reinforcements they’ve got coming. Warn them about ambushes, ask to be resupplied, whatever. If we can intercept that we’ll disrupt them even more.’

‘That’s not a bad idea,’ Ben said. ‘Parry! – ’ He turned to the forester – ‘shadow the soldiers. If they send a messenger, do as Burnsides says.’

‘Yes sir,’ Parry said.

‘As soon as we get back to Raven’s Roost we’ll send out relief for you,’ Magnus said. ‘And a horse.’

‘Thank you, sir,’ Parry said. He took off into the trees, and the rest of the group piled the abandoned swords into the wagon and turned towards Raven’s Roost.

‘You should ride on the wagon,’ Ben said.

‘I’m fine,’ Magnus repeated. His whole body was buzzing with energy. He could still barely feel the pain. He leaned closer to Ben and added, ‘better for morale, right?’

‘Fine,’ Ben snapped. ‘Renee, see to him, would you?’

Renee found clean bandages and medicines stored in the cart and handed Magnus a pad soaked in disinfectant. He pressed it to his eye, finding the whole side of his face and neck sticky with blood. Renee’s hand was shaking. When she moved into the range of his good eye he saw that she was in tears.

‘Hey, are you alright?’ he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

‘I’ve never, never cast a spell like that before!’ she sobbed. ‘That poor woman…I didn’t know what else to do…I didn’t think Ben was going to shoot that man _dead_.’

‘I suppose he thought if he didn’t scare them they’d all attack us. Imagine if there’d been a battle. There’d be a lot more than one person dead.’

‘I know, I know…’

‘That woman you burned, she was pretty bad off but she was standing. The army’s got the best magical healers. She’ll probably be right as rain this time tomorrow.’

‘I suppose you’re right,’ Renee sniffed. Magnus had no idea if he was right. ‘This is horrible.’

‘It is,’ Magnus said, ‘but if we don’t beat Kalen…’

‘Then we’re all dead,’ Ben said grimly. ‘Pull yourself together, Renee.’

It was on the tip of Magnus’ tongue to tell Ben to leave her alone, but he realised that her sobbing had to be discouraging the rest of the party. It was stupid to expect this rebellion to be bloodless. Now that he thought about it, he himself had as good as ordered Parry to kill when he told him to intercept any messengers. He gave Renee a last squeeze on the shoulder and then moved ahead, speaking to each member of his party in turn. Spirits rose, and soon he was being ribbed on all sides about how the Neverwinter soldier had messed up his pretty face. He kept the bandage pressed firmly to the cut, feeling drying blood crack on his skin every time he moved, and took it in good part.

The hike back to Raven’s Roost felt much longer than the one out. By the time the city gates swung open to receive them, the adrenaline had drained out of Magnus’ limbs, leaving weakness behind, and his wound was starting to throb. The street inside the gates was crowded with people waiting to see how the expedition had fared. A cheer went up as they saw the wagon piled high with weaponry, then faltered at the sight of Magnus’ wound and Renee’s pale face. Something about the sight of Magnus hurt but standing seemed to cause a sort of quiet frenzy. People crowded in on them, trying to get a good look at him, to be within earshot as he repeated over and over that he was fine and the mission had been a success. Seen through one eye, the street and the swirling people looked flat and disorienting, robbed of perspective. He kept twisting his head to the right to try and see things on his blind side.

‘Back off, give him some air!’ Ben shouted. ‘Is there a healer – ?’

‘I might as well come straight to the hall to report,’ Magnus cut him off. ‘We’ll find a healer there as soon as anywhere else.’

Ben grunted an assent, and their party made its way up the steep road to the town hall.

The magistrate leapt up from her desk and hurried towards them as soon as they entered the room.

‘I heard you were wounded,’ she said to Magnus. ‘Gods be praised, you’re on your feet. What is it – ? Just a scratch? Thank heavens. Tell me what happened.’

‘The mission was a success,’ Magnus said. ‘We ambushed the unit and took their swords and supply wagon. We killed one and injured three who resisted. The rest left peacefully. And we left a man behind to shadow them. If they try to send a message asking to be resupplied, he’ll intercept it. We promised him backup and a horse.’

‘He’ll get it immediately,’ the magistrate said. She turned and gave an order. ‘It seems that this went…remarkably smoothly.’

‘I can’t believe it,’ Ben said. ‘Thought it was all going to pop off there when that idiot attacked Burnsides.’

‘Why do you think they didn’t fight back?’ Magnus asked.

Ben chuckled. ‘For the Lord of Neverwinter, fifty crossbows just isn’t that much material. Definitely not worth losing half a unit over. Why fight back when we had the upper hand? They don’t think they even need to meet us in battle, they think they just need to starve us out. And they still will, most likely. We’ve got a lot of work to do.’

‘I hope Kalen doesn’t punish them for not resisting,’ Magnus sighed.

‘It’ll serve us if he does,’ Ben said. ‘The more unpopular he makes himself, the better.’

‘Tell me more about how you got injured,’ the magistrate said.

‘He was an idiot,’ Ben said. ‘Young hothead from Neverwinter goes for one of our men, Burnsides decides to wrestle him instead of loosing an arrow.’

The magistrate’s expression turned thunderous. ‘Gods above!’ she said, sounding for a moment very like Steven. ‘Haven’t you realised how much we need you alive? And you went hand-to-hand with the man? What were you thinking?’

Magnus’ brow furrowed. What _had_ he been thinking?

‘Magnus?’

‘I’m sorry,’ he said, ‘I’m feeling a little tired…’

‘Damn, yes, we’ve got to get you seen to,’ the magistrate muttered. ‘Here, sit down. Healer!’

Magnus dropped into the chair she indicated. He felt heavy and slow-witted, and a fierce ache was building in his temples. His cut throbbed.

The door swung open. Magnus looked up and saw Julia walking into the room. She took one look at him and her face filled with horror.

Magnus realised what he must look like, slumped over in a chair with bloodstains all down his shirt. He jumped up to reassure her.

‘Julia – ’

He took a step forward. His foot hit the floor and seemed to keep on going. The whole room lurched and he felt his gorge rise.

Julia, Ben and the Magistrate were all reaching for him at once. The room was sideways. Julia was dropping to her knees beside him. He was on the ground. How had he got there? The world was spinning, and then it was fading, and then it was gone.

 


	7. The Incursion

Magnus’ eyes blinked open. At least, his left one did. His right, he found, was firmly swollen shut.

He was in his room in Steven’s house, lying on his cot with a cool pillow under his head. He breathed in and smelled the familiar smell of wood shavings. The room was dark, the house quiet. He felt tired, but comfortable.

He rolled his head, bringing the right side of the room into view of his good eye, and saw Julia, asleep in a rocking chair by the side of his bed. Her head was lolling back unsupported and her mouth was open. It looked very uncomfortable.

‘Julia!’ he whispered. She stirred slightly. He reached out and jostled her hand gently. ‘Gotta wake up, Jules, you’re going to crick your neck.’

‘Ow,’ she muttered, blinking. Then she came awake all at once, and grabbed his hand before he could withdraw it. ‘Magnus! You’re awake…’

‘What’re you sleeping in a chair for, silly?’ Magnus said gently.

‘I wanted to make sure you were alright.’

‘But the healers have seen to me, right?’ Magnus brought his free hand up to touch his face, which was neatly bandaged. ‘What did they say?’

‘That you’d be fine,’ Julia said. ‘They didn’t even burn any magic on you. But there was so much blood and then you just _keeled over_ and…’

‘I stood up too fast,’ Magnus said. Julia gave a little gasp. He realised that she was crying.

‘Hey, hey!’ he said, sitting up in bed, trying to lean over to her chair with his arms open to comfort her. Julia threw herself into them, burying her face in his shoulder.

 ‘I’m sorry,’ he whispered, rocking her gently. ‘I know we said no heroics.’

‘Ben and the magistrate can yell at you for being merciful if they want,’ Julia said. ‘I’m not going to. I’m sorry. I’m ridiculous. Crying over a scratch.’

‘You’re not. If you came back hurt I’d go distracted.’

‘Mags, I need to tell you something,’ Julia said, looking up. A tear was running down her cheek. Magnus wiped it away with his thumb. He didn’t know whether he’d cupped her cheek or she’d leaned into his hand, only that suddenly he was holding her face and gazing into her eyes, longer and more deeply than he could ever explain away. But she wasn’t pulling away. She was looking at him too. And suddenly he found that he could read her face as clearly as if she had spoken.

‘This is impossible,’ he whispered.

‘What?’ She sounded almost afraid.

‘Julia, I fell in love with you and the whole world made sense. It’s the best thing I’ve ever felt. I’m happy whenever I’m near you. If you love me _back_ …nobody gets that lucky. No-one.’

‘You fell in love with me?’ she said.

‘I love you,’ he said. ‘I’ve loved you since the moment I met you.’

She stared at him for a moment. He could feel her trembling. Then she turned her face into his hand, kissing the heel of his palm.

‘I love you,’ she said quietly.

‘Julia,’ he said. He groped for the words to tell her how he was feeling. ‘It’s like walking by the river in summer and then the sun telling you it’s shining _for_ you.’

‘Oh Mags.’

‘Too soppy?’

‘No! I…I dreamed about you saying those things to me and I told myself not to be silly.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Magnus said, pulling her tight into his arms again. ‘I should have told you ages ago. I’m an idiot.’

‘Why didn’t you?’

‘You’ll laugh.’

‘Go on…’

‘It just didn’t occur to me for ages. When I met you I was so floored I spent months just admiring you before I remembered what people usually do about that. And then we were friends and I didn’t want to make things weird for you. Why didn’t you tell me?’

‘More normal reason. Too shy.’

‘Wasn’t it obvious I liked you?’ Magnus asked.

‘You like everybody!’ Julia said. ‘I couldn’t tell if I was special; it drove me wild!’

‘Oh Jules,’ Magnus said. She groaned as he laughed at her. ‘How long?’

‘Right from the start, near enough.’

‘No way!’ Magnus exclaimed. ‘You hardly had a word to say to me when we first met.’

‘Because you made me _feel_ things and I didn’t _like_ it!’ Julia said. ‘Remember the first night you moved here, we were eating dinner and I made you laugh and you were so handsome that I just – ’

‘I laughed so hard soup came out of my nose!’ Magnus protested.

‘And I got so flustered that I couldn’t talk for the rest of the evening,’ Julia said.

‘Oh, Jules,’ Magnus repeated. He looked into her eyes and found himself caught all over again. Julia leaned into him, their foreheads and noses pressing together.

‘Can I kiss you?’ she asked.

‘Yes,’ Magnus whispered. He could hardly breathe as her lips met his, dry and gentle. She kissed him just the once. It was more than enough, when they both wanted to savour every second.

‘I’ve been miserable,’ Julia said, ‘thinking you were almost done training and you were going to leave any day…’

‘I’ll never leave you,’ Magnus said. ‘I said you were my family. I used to daydream about…about that not just being the way I felt. About it being real.’

‘It’s real,’ Julia said. ‘I didn’t know it was possible to love anyone the way I love you.’

They sat in silence for a few minutes, Magnus just basking in being able to hold her, for as long as he liked, and know it meant the same thing to both of them.

‘What time is it?’ he asked at length.

‘It was after eleven last time I looked,’ Julia said.

‘I passed out for that long? No wonder you were scared.’

‘Nah, they did give you a little sleep charm. The herbs for that aren’t in as short supply as healing ones. You should probably try and get back to sleep, or your body’ll be all out of time with the clock. Are you in pain at all?’

‘It stings a little,’ Magnus admitted. ‘It’s fine as long as you’re taking my mind off it…’

‘So I’ll take your mind off it till you’re asleep,’ Julia said.

‘I mean…’ Magnus fumbled. ‘As long as you’re comfortable with…’

‘Sure. Look, I’ll stay on top of the blankets, what could be more appropriate?’

Magnus grinned. Julia leaned against the wall and made him lie down with his head resting against her hip, her arm round his shoulder.

‘Match my breathing,’ she said. ‘Don’t tense up if it hurts. You’ll feel better.’

She pressed her fingers gently into the side of his neck. He felt his muscles unlock. Drowsiness crept over him much more quickly than he’d expected. He knew they were still in danger, but he couldn’t feel it. He could only feel happy.

‘I love you,’ he mumbled.

‘Go to sleep.’

‘I do, though.’ He nuzzled her hip.

‘I love you too,’ Julia whispered. Magnus fell asleep with her fingers combing his hair.

*     *     *

Magnus woke late the following day. Bright sunshine was pouring through the window, and he could see the first hard frost of the year glittering on the roofs outside. He felt thoroughly rested, fit and well. He could see a sliver through his injured eye. Then he remembered what he and Julia had said to one another last night, and his stomach tied itself into about eight separate knots.

He was in the kitchen, cutting his morning ration of bread, when Julia and Renee came clattering in, both in a state of high spirits.

‘Magnus, you’re up!’ Renee exclaimed. ‘That cut looks a lot less frightening than it did two days ago.’

‘Our lookouts say another group of soldiers arrived yesterday,’ Julia said. ‘They’re all in confusion because they were supposed to be supplied out of what we stole. Parry must have stopped them getting any message about our ambush. Dawn this morning we snuck up on them and fireballed half their food stores. Oh, and I stole you some jerky.’ She tossed a package to Magnus, who caught it one-handed. All he could do was grin at her. He thought he must look very foolish. He didn’t care.

‘And this is nettle tea,’ Renee said, holding up a packet of herbs. ‘From my cupboard, not from the camp. It’ll help you heal clean. Full of nourishment. You should drink some now.’ She moved the kettle onto the fire and tossed some leaves in.

‘I haven’t been fussed over this much for at least a decade,’ Magnus said.

‘Well, I suppose we’re all just riding high right now,’ Renee said. She glanced between Magnus and Julia, eyes twinkling. ‘Well, I’ll be going; Ester’ll be annoyed if I miss breakfast. That’s married life for you.’ She left the kitchen.

‘You’ll have won the revolution before I’m back on my feet at this rate,’ Magnus said to Julia.

‘I wish!’ she said. ‘It went well though. We set a lot of stuff on fire, yelled some slogans about how Kalen’s not worth fighting for and they should be on your side.’ She looked at him closely. ‘I thought you’d be upset we went without you.’

‘No,’ Magnus said. ‘Normally I would, but it’s different when it’s you.’

She twisted her apron, glancing away, suddenly shy. Magnus put his hand on her arm, she looked into his face and suddenly the whole world slotted into place.

‘I hate you being in danger,’ Magnus said quietly, ‘but they need your help.’

‘I actually…I wanted to talk to you about that,’ Julia said. ‘Mags, I love you. I can’t imagine not loving you. I don’t want this to ever end –’

‘I don’t either,’ Magnus said at once. ‘I can’t see the future, but if a person can ever promise anything then I promise you this won’t end.’

‘So,’ Julia said, ‘um, what if we get married?’

Magnus’s mind stopped. He remembered that bright daydream he’d been dreaming on the last day before the rebellion: him and Julia and Steven together in the workshop, him married to Julia, a family for real and not just in his heart, and maybe children –

‘I don’t want to hurry you,’ Julia said, ‘it’s just I thought – ’

‘Oh Julia,’ Magnus said, ‘that’s all I want.’

‘Really?’ Julia whispered. She’d moved very close to him. Magnus felt like he was holding his whole future, condensed and bright and shining in his arms.

‘Yes,’ Magnus said fervently. ‘When?’

‘As soon as the magistrate has fifteen minutes to spare, as far as I’m concerned,’ Julia said. ‘The gods only know how much time we have. And there’s practical things, in case one of us doesn’t make it. Inheritance laws and so on.’

‘That’s a good point,’ Magnus said, ‘but I don’t think I own enough for it to matter much,’

‘I was thinking about me,’ Julia said. ‘I’m the heir to the shop.’

‘Oh.’ Magnus’s stomach went cold. He lowered his forehead onto the top of her head. ‘Gods, I don’t want to think about that.’

‘Gotta think about it, Maggie.’

‘Alright, alright, I’m thinking,’ he said. ‘First off, I don’t think Steven’s going to let me starve if anything happens to you.’

‘That’s true. You’re already half a son to him. But I want to be _sure_. I want it to be legal. I _love_ you!’

‘I love you too. Julia – let’s wait – ’ she looked up at him sharply – ‘because I’m not getting married for _Kalen_.’

‘How do you mean?’

‘I don’t care about the shop,’ he said, heat creeping into his voice, ‘and if we both end up in the astral plane I doubt the gods are going to mind about the paperwork. I’m not going to spend my wedding looking over my shoulder when I should be looking at you. I’m not going to let this fight set the time for us. Julia, I’ll do whatever makes you happy, but I think we should wait.’

‘You really don’t care about any of it?’ Julia whispered.

‘No. Only you. We’ll get married in the spring, and there’ll be warm weather and enough food and time to get a pretty dress for you, and we won’t have to worry about a single thing in the world except each other.’

‘I want it to be like that,’ Julia said. Both of them were blinking back tears. ‘Alright. Alright, we’ll wait.’

‘Let me ask you, then,’ he said, and got down on one knee. Julia gave a hiccoughy laugh. He’d been standing too close to her; he had to shuffle backwards on his knees to look up at her properly. ‘Julia…’

‘Yes,’ she said immediately. She was laughing and crying all at once.

‘No, no, let me say it,’ he said. ‘Will you marry me?’

‘Yes,’ she said again, pulling on his arm. Magnus stumbled to his feet, laughing, and into her arms. She hugged the breath out of him. Magnus tilted her face up to his and kissed her. She tasted like that happy spring day. He yearned for it so strongly that he felt like he could pull them through the winter and the revolution by force of will alone.

‘We’ll make it, I promise,’ he said. ‘First warm day of the year, flowers, dress, everything. I’m going to buy you silk.’

‘Ugh!’ Julia exclaimed, smacking him on the shoulder. ‘ _Three years_ I’ve been pining after you, Magnus Burnsides, and you want to wait longer? I’m going to go _mad_.’

‘Me too,’ Magnus said, just gazing at her. ‘But I don’t care. I love wanting you this much.’

Julia blushed and put her hand to his cheek. ‘How’s your eye?’ she asked.

‘Not bad. A little hot.’

‘Shouldn’t you still be resting?’ Julia asked.

‘I don’t want to be in bed, I want to be down here with you!’ Magnus said. ‘Look, compromise: I’ll sit on the window seat with the cushions. You can even put a blanket over me if you want.’

Julia laughed at that. Magnus settled himself on the window seat. After all that emotion he found that he actually was quite tired. Julia really did swing a woollen blanket over him, wrapping it right round him to shield him from the cold of the glass at his back, and she fetched him a mug of nettle tea. Then she tucked herself in beside him, outside the blanket but close enough that Magnus could feel the press of her arm, and picked up a piece of whittling.

‘Let’s talk about how we’re going to do this,’ Magnus said. He knew there were a lot of details to iron out, but he mostly just wanted to dream. ‘Where are we going to live?’

‘I heard there’s rooms for rent just across the street,’ Julia said. ‘They’re just attics with a bed and a stove, but for starters…’

‘A room all to ourselves?’ Magnus said. ‘It sounds like heaven.’

Julia gave his arm a squeeze.

‘Where are we going to work?’ she asked. ‘Here?’

‘As long as Steven’ll have me. If there’s not enough work to support us you can always do more music. Phillip’s old students all know you’re the best he taught.’

‘There will be enough work, though. No tax from Kalen strangling the trade, and everyone in the city and beyond knowing what you did? I’ll make sure mother and her caravan tell the story of the handsome hero-carpenter every time they sell a piece.’

Magnus rolled his eyes, blushing a little. ‘Do we want children?’ he asked.

‘Yes. How many?’

‘Like twelve.’

‘Magnus!’

‘Alright, alright! Half a dozen, and a dog for each of them.’

‘You’re ridiculous. I want a cat.’

‘I suppose a cat fits better in a one-room household. Save the six dogs for when we’re rich folk heroes.’

‘Deal,’ Julia said, curling against him. ‘Wow, I was never sure I’d be good at having a family, but with you…’

‘You’ll be wonderful at it,’ Magnus said.

‘I hope it’s soon. After we’re married. A baby.’

‘Me too,’ Magnus said. ‘I’ll make it good for you every time we try.’

Julia’s lips parted, and Magnus’s heart skipped a beat at the look on her face, and then suddenly they heard noises outside. A shriek, and the ring of steel.

Julia leapt to her feet.

‘Oh, hell,’ she said.

‘Let’s go!’ Magnus shouted.

As they clattered down the stairs, Steven came bursting out of the study.

‘What was that?’ he shouted.

‘Don’t know!’ Julia said. She, Steven and Magnus grabbed their shortbows off the wall and dashed out into the street.

The cries that had alerted them were coming from a side-street. They ran to the corner, and then Julia threw out her arm, forcing Steven and Magnus to stop. The three of them peered around the corner.

The side-street ran over a narrow bridge, across a deep ravine. On the other side of the bridge were five soldiers in Neverwinter livery. How had they got in? Renee, Meg and her master the cooper were engaging them. As Magnus watched, one of the soldiers got an arm around Meg’s throat, dragging her back away from the others.

‘Stop fighting!’ she yelled to Renee and the cooper. ‘Back up across the bridge, or I’ll put a knife in the girl!’

As Renee and the cooper hurried to obey, Julia whispered to Steven and Magnus,

‘Hide here just a moment! Let me try something!’

Before they could answer, she flung herself around the corner and into full view.

 ‘Stop!’ she shouted, throwing up her hands. ‘I’ll give myself up if you let her go!’

The soldier holding Meg stilled, looking Julia over.

‘Am I supposed to know who you are?’ she asked. Meg was struggling furiously in her arms, but all her efforts barely jostled her captor.

‘I’m Magnus Burnsides’ sweetheart,’ Julia said. ‘You’ve got my little sister.’

‘That’s the guy Kalen wants, right?’ the woman muttered to one of her comrades. ‘He got a girl?’

‘It was a girl did for Kalen’s guardsman,’ the man replied. ‘Could be her.’

‘Hmph,’ the woman said, and addressed Julia again. ‘It just so happens it’s Burnsides we’re here for,’ she said.’

‘If you have me he’ll surrender to you, and the whole city with him,’ Julia said. ‘ _No, don’t hurt her!_ ’ The woman had suddenly thrust Meg almost to the edge of the bridge.

‘I think she’s for real,’ the woman said. ‘Alright, here’s what we’re going to do. You and your sister’ll walk out onto this bridge at the same time. You cross, she goes to safety, we get you. Try anything and my men’ll put arrows in you both.’

‘Alright,’ Julia said at once. Her voice sounded full of tears.

The woman let go of Meg and gave her a shove in the back, pushing her onto the bridge. Meg hesitated. Magnus knew that in her place he’d be loudly refusing to trade places right now, and ruining Julia’s whole plan in the process. What _was_ her plan, anyway?

‘It’ll be okay, Meg,’ Julia said. Meg set her face and started to walk forward. Julia did the same.

‘Wait,’ Magnus breathed to Steven. Steven’s expression looked fearsome. _Trust her_ , Magnus willed him. _Give her one more moment…_

Julia and Meg walked towards each other. There were three arrows trained on them. Magnus clutched his own bow, hardly daring to breathe. They were almost level…they were face to face. Then Julia wrapped her arms around Meg. As smoothly as though stepping off the kerb, she pulled both of them over the sheer edge of the bridge and out of sight.

Magnus immediately lunged around the corner, with Steven right beside him. Both of them fired. Renee was only slightly slower on the uptake, letting fly a deadly stream of magic. The enemy soldiers hadn’t reacted. Julia had stepped off the bridge so calmly that they could hardly believe their eyes. All three missiles hit home. Magnus saw his arrow take the lead woman in the chest. She put her hand up to the wound and met his eyes, sinking slowly to her knees, a trickle of blood escaping from her mouth. Two of her men were already on the ground. The other two, seeing the odds turn so suddenly against them, turned and sprinted away.

Magnus was on the bridge almost before he knew he’d moved. Julia was dangling from a handhold an arm’s length down, with Meg clutching her round the chest. Julia’s arms were shaking with effort. Magnus and Steven almost fell over one another as they reached down to help her. Magnus took Meg’s weight, and Steven hauled Julia bodily up onto the bridge.

‘Oh my stars!’ Meg exclaimed as soon as she was back on solid ground. She looked between Julia and Magnus. ‘You’re in _looove!’_

‘Hold your tongue!’ Steven said. ‘What the devil happened here?’

‘They got in here somehow!’ the cooper said. He sounded shaken. ‘I saw them slipping up the street, dashed out to give them what for, Renee came running, then you, but they grabbed a hold of Meg – ’

‘Why didn’t you stay inside?’ Steven growled, shaking Meg by the scruff of her neck.

‘I wanted to help!’ Meg shouted.

‘Never mind that!’ Renee said. ‘Kalen’s men weren’t supposed to be able to get into the city!’

‘You should’ve followed them and seen where they got in.’ Julia said. ‘Why’d you all run to help me? I was fine!’

‘The main roads into the city are all under guard,’ Steven said. ‘They must have found one of our little cliff routes. If they can just climb up willy nilly…this is bad, this is very bad.’

‘We should have expected this,’ Renee said. ‘If we can climb down, they can climb up. What are the militia doing? Why weren’t they mounting a proper guard?’

‘The magistrate only ordered a guard over the roads,’ Magnus said.

‘That insult.’ The cooper spat. ‘What proof have we got that she really wants this city defended properly, anyway?’

‘Hey!’ Magnus said sharply. ‘Talk like that and you’ll put the whole town in a panic. She took her advice from Sal; Sal told her not to worry about incursions. You really think _Sal’s_ a traitor?’

‘Well, what other explanation have you got?’ the cooper said mutinously.

‘That we’re a crowd of civilians trying to mount a defence,’ Magnus said. ‘Of course things are going to go wrong. Look, we drove them off, didn’t we? This is a win! I’m going to head down to the town hall straight away. We’ll tell the militia what happened and figure out what went wrong here. Lock your doors and stay armed; there could be more of them.’

‘I’ll go with you,’ Julia said. ‘Father – ’

‘I’ll take the reins here,’ Steven said heavily. ‘Warn people what happened, warn them to stay inside, try to prevent a riot.’ He looked up at the sky, which had darkened from its early-morning brilliance. ‘Looks like there could be snow. Hopefully they won’t try anything else today.’

‘Try to pass the word along to the other cliffside streets so they know to be on guard, just in case,’ Magnus said.

‘Will do,’ Steven said.

‘Thanks,’ Julia whispered, reaching up to kiss him on the cheek. Magnus glimpsed the fear and pain on his face as they hurried away.

Ben was lounging against the wall of the town hall when they reached the square. He stood up sharply at the sight of their expressions.

‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.

‘The walls aren’t secure,’ Julia said. ‘A few soldiers climbed up and attacked the Corridor.’

‘Damn!’ Ben exclaimed. ‘Should have seen that coming. Any dead?’

‘Three of theirs; none of ours.’

‘Good for you. Well, improving our guard is going to be tough with the resources we’ve got, but we’ll have to try. And I suppose they can hardly mount a proper attack up a cliff-face. The main thing is to keep it quiet so people don’t get frightened.’

‘Really? We told Steven to warn everyone,’ Magnus said.

Ben went quiet for a second, then shouted so loudly and suddenly that Magnus jumped.

‘Mighty _gods_ , you told him to spread it? _Why?_ ’

‘So that they know to watch out!’ Magnus exclaimed, confused.

‘Oh, brilliant!’ Ben shouted. ‘Wonderful! You know what kills people even faster than enemy swords? Panic! People were told the city walls couldn’t be breached! In an hour we’re going to have a mob yelling for our heads.’

‘They have a right to know,’ Magnus said.

Ben took two steps forward, right into his face. For a moment he thought Ben was going to hit him. Then Ben visibly collected himself and drew back.

‘Right,’ he said, voice level, eerily calm. ‘Let’s get inside and talk.’

He led them into the main hall, down a corridor and into one of the meeting chambers. Sal and the captain of the militia were already sitting there, poring over a list of inventory. They looked up in alarm as Ben, Magnus and Julia entered.

‘What’s wrong?’ Sal said at once.

‘I’m fetching the magistrate,’ Ben said. ‘Fill them in,’ he told Magnus over his shoulder, and walked out of the room.

‘Kalen’s men scaled the walls,’ Magnus said. ‘Ben’s afraid there’ll be panic.’

‘I should get out there,’ Sal said, leaping to her feet. ‘People trust me, could be I can calm them – ’

‘Ben’s exaggerating,’ Julia said. ‘Father’s in charge; he’ll make sure it gets done right.’

‘What are you going to do anyway, Sal, run door to door giving reassurance?’ the captain said. ‘Sit tight for now.’

Magnus sank into a chair, thoroughly unnerved by Sal’s reaction. The sharp rap of footsteps in the corridor heralded Ben and the magistrate’s arrival.

The Magistrate swept into the room. Her expression was furious. Under one arm she held the atlas that Sal had been using on the first night of the rebellion, when she talked about the defensibility of the city.

‘ _Three routes!_ ’ the magistrate shouted, slamming the book of maps down in front of Sal. ‘ _Three passable routes_ into this city for an army, you said!’

‘You love giving orders, so answer me this,’ Sal said. ‘Why didn’t you order a proper watch on the walls?’

‘Am I a military woman? _No_! I _delegated_ the defence of the city to the captain and to you.’

‘Dammit, we’re not generals either!’ the captain said. ‘We’d have listened to anyone’s advice. Ben, why didn’t you say anything?’

‘I’ve been training volunteers,’ Ben said evenly, sitting down. ‘I’ve been running raids. Do you want me to do everything for you?’

The captain looked about ready to yell in his face. Magnus put himself in the middle of the group and said loudly,

‘Bring it down! We mustn’t quarrel.’

‘And where the hell were you while our walls were getting breached, anyway?’ the captain said.

‘Taking my day’s rest like I’d been ordered,’ Magnus said. He remembered the warmth of the love-seat and Julia’s smile, and prayed that it didn’t show on his face.

‘He was first on the scene!’ Julia flared.

‘What, are you going to fault the boy for not arranging the watch himself?’ Ben said. He nodded his head between Magnus and the magistrate. ‘He’s a carpenter and she’s an administrator; I don’t know what you expected.’

‘Once this is over you can blame me all you like,’ Magnus said to Ben. ‘Right now you can help me fix it or you can _shut up_.’

‘Oh, I wasn’t blaming you,’ Ben said dryly. ‘I was just commenting that everyone here knew who you were when they decided to follow you. If they don’t have the leader they’d like now, they can’t complain. Maybe they should pick up the slack for themselves.’

‘Look,’ the captain huffed, ‘I think we’re overreacting here. It was unlucky that those men managed to slip through and put the frighteners on people, but they didn’t do much damage and it won’t happen again. The militia’s always been kept at strength to repel attackers from the walls if need be. I’ll see to it that all the watchtowers are manned from now on; problem solved.’

Julia shook her head. ‘The watchtowers are set over the most obvious climbing routes into the city,’ she said. ‘The route they used…it wasn’t obvious. Kalen must have hired mountain scouts. I bet he got the idea when we gave his soldiers the slip that first time.’ She gave an angry grimace. ‘If they’ve got expert climbers…that means they can slip into the city pretty much wherever.’

‘So forget the watchtowers; throw a net around the whole city wall,’ the captain said. ‘It needn’t be a heavy patrol. The enemy can only climb up one or two at a time; we just throw them back down.’

‘What about fuel?’ Ben said. ‘Every one of those guard houses has to be kept warm. Frost’s setting in. The patrols will want extra rations too.’

‘And they don’t even have to sneak past our patrols,’ Sal said. ‘At least, not more than once or twice. If people think they could be murdered in their beds they’ll panic. The city was supposed to be impregnable.’

There was a clatter of boots in the corridor and a young militiawoman hurried into the room, shaking powdery snow off her cloak.

‘I’ve come from the unit watching Kalen’s camp,’ she said. ‘We’ve got bad news.’

The magistrate suddenly laughed, long and loud.

‘Misery loves company,’ she said. ‘Come on, let’s have it.’

‘More soldiers have arrived,’ the militiawoman said. ‘Some more from Neverwinter; some of Kalen’s own; some mercs. And they’ve got heavy weaponry. The best plate mail I’ve ever seen. I don’t think we’ve got anything that could pierce it.’

‘Those crossbows we lifted, maybe,’ Ben said. ‘That raid sure is turning out to be worth the trouble.’

‘So now they can attack us two ways,’ Sal said. ‘Send knights in full armour up the main road, chew up all our forces trying to defend the gates, and at the same time small parties are scaling the walls and wreaking havoc. Or they could just harry us, break our nerve like Ben said. We planned for a siege, not an invasion. What do we do?’

‘Time to surrender?’ the captain suggested.

‘No!’ Julia said. ‘Think! Why do we even know that they have armour or know how to climb the walls? Because Kalen’s an _idiot_. All he’s got that we haven’t is money to throw at the problem. We can _beat_ this.’

‘Damned right!’ the magistrate said. She opened the largest map, raising up the vellum like a bed sheet so that it fanned out smoothly on the table. She banged her hand down on the drawing of Raven’s Roost. ‘Work the problem! Give me a plan.’

‘We could trap the walls somehow,’ the captain suggested without conviction. ‘Magic, falling rocks…’

‘Can we make more crossbows like the ones we stole?’ Julia asked.

‘Not fast enough,’ Ben said. ‘And I know your dad’s got to be running out of wood.’

‘We’ve got to take the initiative,’ the magistrate said. ‘Make them give up, or at least thin them out. An ambush, something.’

‘Gods, I’d like to meet Kalen in a fight,’ Sal said. ‘But we don’t have the _numbers_.’

Magnus stared dully at the map, letting their voices wash over him. It was a pretty poor way to represent something so beautiful, he thought. The lofty city, nestled into the arms of the mountain as though into a winged armchair. The cataracts from the cliffs, finally gathering themselves into something deserving the name of _river_ , sweeping round beneath the pillars, keeping the city watered. The woods marching along the mountains and cliffs, and in front of the city gates the open plain that let you chase the road with your eyes all the way to the horizon. By tomorrow the whole scene would be in the grip of winter, frozen solid and glittered over with snow. It would have been a good plain for a pitched battle like in stories, if only they’d had the forces for it. But they didn’t.

Magnus stared at the map, and found that he had a plan.

‘I know what to do,’ he said.

 


	8. The Trap

‘That’ll never work,’ the captain said when he was done explaining. ‘It’s insane.’

‘We’ll bait the trap,’ Magnus said. ‘Let them think they can destroy us once and for all and they’ll get reckless.’

‘What’ll you do if the weather doesn’t play along?’

‘It will,’ Magnus said. ‘It’s snowing now, but the wind’s from the west. We’ll have a thaw by morning. It’s always treacherous this time of year. Ask anyone.’

‘You can’t expect every bit of this to work. It’s a chance in a hundred.’

Magnus shrugged. ‘This revolution always had long odds,’ he said, ‘but if anybody has a better idea, hey, I’ll take mine off the table.’

The captain’s mouth twisted unhappily, but he didn’t say anything. The others were looking thoughtful.

‘We’ve got to turn this thing around,’ Magnus pressed. ‘We’re on our _own goddamned turf_. We’ve got to use that. They’re better equipped than us; we’ve got to _make_ a situation where that’s a bad thing for them. They’re arrogant and they think they’ve got us beat and that means we can win if we just use it against them.’

‘I kind of like it,’ Ben said. ‘I’ve heard crazier plans. Plate mail can be one hell of a nuisance in the wrong conditions.’

They hammered out a few details and the magistrate adjourned the meeting, telling Magnus to go and give the new information to the militia himself. He left the meeting room with Julia at his side.

‘I should go back home, tell Father what’s going on,’ Julia muttered. She looked tense and tired.

‘Wait a moment; come in here,’ Magnus said abruptly. He pushed open a side door and stepped into a disused room. Julia followed him at once. The moment they were alone Magnus wrapped his arms around her, too tight, pulling her to him. He found he was shaking. His chest felt tight. He put his face into her hair and managed to draw breath.

‘Sorry,’ he said. ‘Didn’t want anybody to see me freaking out.’

‘Makes sense,’ Julia said. She put her arms around him as well. ‘Gods, I’m scared.’

Magnus struggled with himself, not knowing whether to say what was in his mind. She would think less of him. But she deserved a choice. Finally he said, haltingly,

‘You could probably climb out of here if you wanted.’

‘Do you think we should be evacuating people?’ Julia said.

That wasn’t what Magnus had meant. He thought about it.

‘No. If you tried to take more than a few people with you you’d be spotted. Besides, it’s getting too cold to be living rough. I meant, _you_ could sneak out.’

‘Oh,’ Julia said. ‘Well, shit. I wish…but no. I’m not leaving you.’

‘What if I said I’d come with you?’

‘Oh God. No. No, I’d still stay.’

‘We’d hate ourselves if we ran, wouldn’t we?’

‘Yeah. I want you to be safe so damned bad. But I think that ship’s sailed.’

Magnus hugged Julia even tighter. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said thickly. ‘I’m so sorry I put us all in danger. If I could take it back I would.’

‘I wouldn’t,’ Julia said. ‘You did the right thing. I don’t care what it costs us. I wouldn’t change it for the world.’

‘I love you so much,’ Magnus whispered. They kissed, just once, and stood there a moment, breathing each other in.

‘You ready to rally the troops?’ Julia asked at last.

‘Yeah,’ Magnus said. ‘Yeah, I can do it. Let’s go.’

*     *     *

Magnus watched as a militiaman began to haul on the wooden wheel that opened the city gates. He was standing at the head of a column of city militia and volunteers, ready to march out and engage Kalen’s men. No hanging back this time; he was front and centre. And he was glad about it. He thought waiting for news would have been worse.

Something about marching out to battle like this felt familiar. He supposed if you’d been in enough scraps, a battle started to look like just a big scrap.

Julia was with their fifty crossbow archers. They were going to be positioned in the shadow of the city wall, ready to strike when the time was right. If everything went according to plan, they wouldn’t see any hand to hand combat. Steven was another matter; he was standing with in the main column, a few ranks back from Magnus. Every sturdy person who could swing a weapon had been scraped together to make a fighting force that could draw out Kalen’s men.

Magnus had barely had a chance to speak to Steven since the attack on the Craftsmen’s Corridor. In fact, he was fairly sure that Steven had been avoiding both him and Julia. Maybe he didn’t want to jinx them by saying goodbye. Maybe he just couldn’t bear to. All Magnus knew was that he wished they’d had time to talk.

‘You look peaky, Burnsides,’ Ben muttered to him. ‘Nervous?’

‘Just hoping this’ll work,’ Magnus said, scowling. ‘What if we march out there and they just ignore us?’

‘They won’t,’ Ben said. ‘They’d much rather crush us in the field than storm the city. You always lose more soldiers that way. Only danger is they’ll hit us even harder than we’ve bargained for.’

A crack of brilliant light appeared between the tall wooden gates, then slowly widened until Magnus could see the whole vista in front of the city. River, road and empty fields were all obliterated beneath a layer of sharply glittering snow. To the right, the pine woods marched away with the cliffs and mountains jutting up above them. In the distance, he could see smoke rising from the enemy camp.

‘Shoot straight,’ he said to the archers. ‘May the gods go with you.’ He caught Julia’s eye for just an instant, then looked quickly away. Her expression was too painful to look at. The column of archers moved out of the gate, hugging the city wall as they moved into position. Hopefully the deep shade would hide them until they were ready to attack.

‘For Raven’s Roost!’ he said to the infantry.

‘For freedom!’ the captain of the militia shouted. An answering shout rose up from the column, and then they marched out into the bright field.

Magnus could make out nothing of Kalen’s camp except smoke and the shape of tents, but beside him one of the elven militiawomen was looking intently.

‘Oh yes, they’re interested…’ she said.

Their force halted about a quarter mile out from the gates. They might have made some headway by sweeping into the camp and attacking it unawares, but their real chance lay in the terrain and the waiting archers. Besides, they had no horses, and to sprint the full distance from the city to the camp would have been exhausting. They’d have to let the enemy come to them.

Ben had a polished ox’s horn with a bright silver mouthpiece. He raised it and blew, issuing a challenge. For a few minutes they waited, shivering in the bright, heatless sunshine. Then Magnus’ eyes caught movement spreading out from the camp.

A force of soldiers about the size of their own was moving into formation. He could make out a mixture of Neverwinter livery and Kalen’s own, together with the plain armour of hired swords. The mercenaries had no livery, but whoever had supplied them had managed to kit them out in matching armour. It was a well-ordered fighting force, and in moments they had arranged themselves into ranks and were running across the snow. He could make out individual people, then those people’s faces, then the whites of their eyes. He readied the pike Steven had made him.

‘Kneel!’ the captain shouted, and Magnus dropped to his knees together with the front few ranks of his soldiers. Everyone went down smoothly, just like they’d trained. From their protected position in the rear, their casters launched a volley of fireballs at the enemy.

Most of the fireballs fizzled in the air. Kalen’s own wizards must have prepared a magical shield. But one or two were so powerful that they passed straight through, disrupting the enemy charge. The Raven’s Roost casters sent another volley of fireballs. More of them pierced the magical barrier this time.

‘Archers – ’ the captain ordered, but their chief caster screamed,

‘Magic incoming!’

‘Shields!’ Ben roared. Magnus dropped his pike and swung his buckler in front of his face as a deafening wave of sound exploded over him. It was like having his head slammed in a door. He dropped to one knee; around him, people were falling prone, screaming, hands scrabbling to cover their ears.

‘Thunder wave!’ Ben gasped. Magnus tried to scramble to his feet, but another boom forced him down again. His ears were ringing. The enemy soldiers were almost on top of him.

‘That dwarf!’ Sal screamed, pointing with her war hammer. ‘He’s the caster!’

Magnus saw the elf who’d spoken to him up on her feet, drawing her longbow. Two wizards stood either side of her, shielding her from magical attack as she took aim at the man Sal was pointing out. She let fly. The arrow pierced the dwarf through the eye. He went down, and no more magical thunder hit them.

The two lines clashed.

Bright swords swung at them, but the Raven’s Roost soldiers planted their pikes and forced them back. The pikes reached further than the swords, and the tough wooden shafts could deflect slashes. Magnus blocked and thrust, blocked and thrust. Then he heard an enemy bugle blowing a signal. Kalen’s soldiers fell back and regrouped. The Raven’s Roost line had held.

A flash on their left flank caught his eye. The heavily armoured Neverwinter knights were joining the fray. At another signal from the horn, the Raven’s Roost soldiers fanned out, extending their line to avoid being pincered between the two enemy forces. Magnus loosed an arrow at the knights from his short-bow, and others around him did the same, but it was just as their scout had warned them last night. The arrows skipped harmlessly off the plate mail. Their casters launched a round of magic missiles, but even those barely slowed the enemy soldiers. They were charging faster than Magnus would have thought possible under the weight of all their weapons. He felt his first lurch of real fear. They’d gambled everything on being able to stand up to this force. What if they’d gambled wrong?

The knights crashed by main force through the Raven’s Roost line, swinging swords, flails, maces. All hell broke loose.

It was more horrible than Magnus could have imagined. The pikes that he and Steven had been so proud of bounced off the Neverwinter soldiers’ plate mail. The soldiers might as well have been bits of the mountain that had decided to get up and fight. On his left a woman went down, choking on blood. Next to her a man was getting beaten back, trying desperately to defend himself against a sword almost as long as his pike. Magnus looked for Steven and couldn’t see him. He shouldered his way through the melee to Ben.

‘Sound the retreat!’ he yelled.

‘Got to put on a good show first,’ Ben grunted, shaking his head.

Magnus grimaced. Ben was right. If they broke too early, Kalen’s soldiers might guess that they’d never hoped to win. They might suspect a trick. A soldier ran at him and he thrust his pike through the man’s visor. A horrible crunch reverberated up the pike’s handle, and the man fell, limbs jerking. Magnus tried to pull his pike free, but it was wedged firmly in the man’s face plate. Magnus was glad he couldn’t see the mess he’d made of his face.

He drew his axe, thanking the gods that at least he had the brute strength to wield a heavy weapon. The axe was so heavy that even when it failed to hack through armour, his blows still knocked people off their feet. He swung left and right, delivering two shattering blows to two enemies, then saw Sal through the crush. She was swinging her war hammer like a thresher’s flail, knee-capping men twice her height. Magnus felt a sudden, galvanising thrill of fear for her. He hacked his way to her side, bringing up the haft of his axe just in time to block a soldier swinging a longsword at her neck. The soldier twisted her sword, forcing Magnus’ weapon up and away. She was bare-headed, her face contorted in a snarl. Magnus headbutted her and she fell backwards, nose bloodied. Sal swung her hammer into the woman’s head and she stopped moving.

‘Appreciate it, Magnus,’ Sal said. She pulled out a long knife and lunged under Magnus’ arm, stabbing another soldier who was almost on top of him.  Magnus planted himself with his back to her and swung his axe in wide arcs. Quickly a space began to open up around them, the enemy giving them a wide berth. But it was only a tiny pocket of success in a battle that had exploded beyond their control. There seemed to be two enemies for every one Magnus knocked down. His strength was ebbing. The air was full of screams.

He heard three sharp blasts on the horn. Ben was sounding the retreat, and not a moment too soon. Any longer and they would have been surrounded and overrun.

‘Run!’ Sal bawled to the Raven’s Roost soldiers around them. Magnus took up her cry. ‘Run!’

Their soldiers struggled free from the battle, sprinting away downhill. Magnus, Sal and the other more trained soldiers hung back, covering their retreat. Their numbers looked shockingly depleted. Magnus couldn’t see Steven anywhere. The snow was stained scarlet with blood.

It took Kalen’s army a moment to realise that the Raven’s Roost forces were fleeing outright, and there were a tangled few moments as they got themselves back into ranks to give chase. In their heavy armour they ran more slowly than Magnus’ soldiers, and the gap between the forces opened up to several hundred yards. Kalen’s soldiers seemed in no hurry to close the gap, and looking at the line of his force’s retreat, Magnus saw what their enemies had to already have realised.

In their headlong flight away from the battle, the Raven’s Roost soldiers had failed to take the straightest line towards the city gate, veering off to the left instead. If they raced for it now, Kalen’s forces would get there first. They were cut off, hemmed in by the city wall on one side and the arm of the mountain on the other.

Magnus sighed. It really was all or nothing, then.

Sal and the others were running to catch up with the bulk of the Raven’s Roost soldiers, who had slowed their pace now that there was nowhere to run, but Magnus hung back. He turned to look at Kalen’s soldiers, who had also halted. Their commanders were shouting them into formation, so that when they made their final charge they would be sure of mopping up every last bit of Raven’s Roost’s fighting force.

A heavily armoured man on horseback broke ranks with the foot soldiers and rode forward. Despite the horror of the moment, Magnus’ heart leapt with the hope that it might be Kalen, but of course it wasn’t. Magnus looked up into the pale, slightly twisted face of Valerian, the guardsman whom Kalen had ordered to beat him on the steps of Vera’s sweet shop.

‘Hail and well met, Valerian!’ Magnus said.

‘Half an hour from now,’ Valerian said, ‘I’m going to be marching through that gate with your head on a spike.’

He beat the flat of his sword on his horse’s flank and charged. Behind him, Kalen’s soldiers roared and surged forward. The horse bounded forward, Valerian stooping out of the saddle to cut Magnus down. And then there was a thunderous crack, and both horse and rider vanished as suddenly as if the ground had swallowed them up.

Magnus had lured the army out onto the newly frozen river, and now the ice was giving way. Valerian and his horse were gone instantly, pulled under the ice by the fast mountain current. All that was left was a steaming hole full of black, seething water. Cracks were spreading out from it faster than the eye could follow.

Magnus threw himself flat, crawling backwards as the whole river began to shatter. Across from him, the front line of Kalen’s army was suddenly struggling in the icy water. Some were pulled under as quickly as Valerian had been. Some were quiet, stunned by cold water shock. Others screamed and thrashed, clawing at the ice that only disintegrated further under their hands. Magnus closed his ears to their screams and hauled himself up the bank as the ice disappeared under his feet.

Kalen’s army was in confusion, those in the water trying to flounder back to shore while those at the back of the column hadn’t even realised anything was wrong. They were a seething, tight-packed mass. And then there was a soft, lethal whine as a cloud of crossbow bolts filled the air, fired by the archers lying in ambush under the city wall. In the dense crowd almost every bolt found a target. There was hardly room for the wounded to fall. Straining his eyes, Magnus could just make out the archers reloading. They let fly another volley. Kalen’s men wavered, turned and fled.

Magnus turned and found Ben at his elbow.

‘Give the signal to stand down,’ he said. He was surprised by how tired his voice sounded.

‘Should we give them another volley first?’ Ben asked. Magnus shook his head.

‘Stand down.’

Ben sounded another signal on his horn. No more arrows flew. Ben and Magnus stood silently watching their enemies’ headlong flight away from the city.

‘A third of their fighting force gone, I’d say,’ the captain of the militia said, joining them on the river bank. ‘A good day’s work.’

‘How many’ve we lost?’ Magnus asked.

‘Not too many,’ the captain said, running an eye over their forces, massed on the slope behind them. ‘They were burning through us while we were fighting, but they didn’t have the time to put a serious dent in us.

‘What now?’ Magnus asked.

‘Get back inside to safety before our luck wears out. Ben, get a party together and search the field for wounded. Magnus – ’

‘I’ll help Ben,’ Magnus said at once, but the captain shook his head.

‘You’re the leader, remember? Go tell the town we won.’

‘Trust me, you’ll live happier not seeing this next part,’ Ben said.

‘Alright,’ Magnus said. He realised that there would be Neverwinter soldiers among the gravely wounded, and that Raven’s Roost didn’t have the medicine or rations to keep them as prisoners. It couldn’t be helped, but he didn’t have the stomach for it. He turned away from the blood-stained field and the shattered river, climbing up the hill towards their troops.

‘You fought bravely,’ he announced. ‘Bring the wounded to the front of the column so that we can get them to the healers first thing. Let’s go home.’

As they began to march back towards the city gates, Magnus scanned the line for Steven, but couldn’t make him out. There was a gnawing in his stomach. Sleet began to fall, quickly thickening into a heavy rain. The white of the landscape began to return to green and brown. Ben’s search party were almost obscured in the driving rain. It was clear that the enemy would try nothing else today.

As they came into the shadow of the city wall, the archers fell in beside them. Magnus spotted Julia at once, looking urgently for him. Their eyes met. Magnus made a quick hand-signal: _I’m fine_. The look she gave him could have kindled a fire.

The city walls were packed with people, hanging right over the battlements to see the returning column. A crowd lined the street into the city. As he passed through the gate Magnus hefted his axe above his head, and a tumultuous cheer went up. Despite his sadness at the slaughter behind them, Magnus felt his spirits flare up in response. The people’s nerve wouldn’t break now. Kalen’s soldiers wouldn’t come creeping up the walls to pick them off one by one. Or if they did, Magnus had done all he could. He smiled fiercely as they marched back to the square and the barrack-hall.

As the healers took the wounded aside for treatment and began to arrange for the rest to be washed and fed, Magnus found himself surrounded on all sides by people wanting to talk.

‘You did it, lad, by the gods you did it!’ Parry shouted, punching him on the shoulder. ‘I’ve never seen a trap shut so neatly!’

‘Why didn’t you give us another volley, Magnus?’ Vera demanded. Her crossbow was clutched in her hands, and her eyes were still bright with adrenaline. ‘We could have mopped up the lot of them.’

‘Magnus!’

Magnus turned and saw Julia shouldering her way towards him through the crowd. She threw herself into his arms and several people cooed.

‘Have you seen Father?’ she asked.

‘Not yet – ’

‘Magnus, take these,’ Sal said, elbowing him in the hip to get his attention and handing him two large skins of wine. ‘Go see to the wounded; make sure everyone who’s lucid gets a good draft. It’ll cheer them up to see you.’

As Magnus moved to obey, Julia slid away into the crowd, her eyes searching and tight with worry. Magnus longed to go with her and hunt for Steven, but he still had work to do. He went to the end of the hall where those injured who’d been able to walk away from the field were being seen to. Ben’s search party were already bringing more badly hurt people in on stretchers. The smell of blood was horrible. The healers were organising civilians to carry people out of the overcrowded hall as soon as their wounds were staunched and bandaged.

Magnus walked between the benches, handing out the wine, grasping hands, exchanging a few words with every person he met. There didn’t seem to be as many hurt as he had feared in the middle of the battle. They’d fled in time. Most of the people he talked to were in good spirits, thrilled to have been in a battle and won. At the other end of the hall, away from the makeshift hospital, people were setting out tables with double rations of food, and there was almost a holiday atmosphere. But there were also shapes lying motionless on stretchers with healers working fast and grimly over them, and people keeping to the edge of the hall and not joining in the excited chatter. Magnus felt much as they seemed to.

‘Move over,’ Ben said suddenly at his shoulder. Magnus stepped to the side, allowing him and another man to lower a bloody stretcher to the ground. Magnus recognised Lenka, the witch who’d helped Julia and him on their scouting mission. He kept himself from looking at her too closely, but she looked a mess. The bits and pieces of her didn’t quite seem to line up. There was a lot of blood.

‘Get her a drink of that,’ Ben said, nodding to the wine-skin. ‘Healer!’ He vanished back into the crowd.

‘Hello, Magnus,’ Lenka said as Magnus propped her up and helped her drink. ‘We won, eh?’

‘Thanks to you and the militia,’ Magnus said.

‘Mmm. Damn the weather; the cold’s got right into me.’ He could feel her whole body shaking.

A healer knelt by the stretcher. ‘Let’s see the damage, then,’ she said briskly, pulling back Lenka’s cloak. ‘Let her be, Magnus; no need for you to watch this part.’

Magnus turned gratefully away. He’d had enough. The hall was too hot and too loud; he was heartsick; and his worry was mounting. He looked over the swirling crowd. There was Sal, passing out wine and dried beef; there was the captain, tending to his weapons; and there, sitting on a stool with a bloody bandage around his head, was Steven.

‘ _Steven!_ ’ Magnus cried, charging towards him, bouncing off people as he tried to push through the crowd.

‘ _There_ he is!’ Steven exclaimed, leaping to his feet. ‘Where the hell have you been, lad? They said you were all in one piece, but I wanted to see for myself.’

‘Where have _I_ been?’ Magnus said. ‘Where have _you_ been? I couldn’t see you anywhere – ’

‘Aye, it’s all been a bit of a muddle,’ Steven said, ‘but I’m right as rain.’

He sank back down onto his stool. Magnus saw that as well as his head wound he had a gash in his shoulder, freshly stitched and angry red. The sight of Steven hurt was like a blow to the gut. If the soldier who had done the work was dead, Magnus was going to drag them back from the afterlife and kill them again.

‘Oh, don’t look so worried, Magnus; I’ve caught worse scars from whittling,’ Steven said.

‘What happened?’ Magnus managed.

‘I must’ve heard a dozen heroic tales about this battle already,’ Steven said, ‘but it was a dull affair for me, really. I got stuck in the middle of a crowd of our lot for the first few minutes, which I’m thankful for, since I’ve tried to avoid fighting these last thirty years or so. Then we spread out a bit, but the Corridor lads didn’t let anybody get close enough for me to have a crack at them. Anyway, finally I squared off with one of those soldiers in armour, broke my pike on his breastplate, and next thing I knew Ben was sounding the retreat. We were across the river before I even noticed I’d been hurt.’

‘Our neighbours kept you safe,’ Magnus said.

‘Even my own apprentice thinks I need a babysitter!’ Steven exclaimed. ‘That’s it, time to retire.’

Magnus tried to crack a smile and found that he couldn’t. He swallowed thickly.

‘You alright, Magnus?’ Steven asked in a quieter voice.

Magnus felt as though something had snapped inside him. He dropped onto the chair beside Steven’s and put his head in his hands.

‘Easy there…’ Steven said. Magnus dug the heels of his palms into his eyes, trying to fight back his tears. They were in a hall full of soldiers. He couldn’t go to pieces.

‘C’mere,’ Steven said gruffly, reaching out and pulling Magnus against him. Magnus twisted and threw both arms around Steven, pressing his forehead into his shoulder.

‘I was scared,’ he said, ‘that you’d get hurt. You and Julia.’

‘Me too, son, me to,’ Steven said. He rested his hand at the base of Magnus’ neck, rocking him very slightly. ‘But we’re all in one piece.’

 ‘I hate killing,’ Magnus said. ‘I hate it.’

‘Ah…’ Steven sighed. He paused. ‘No. It’s not pretty.’

‘I guess…’ Magnus drew in a deep breath. ‘I guess they decided to be soldiers.’

‘It’s a lucky man who can decide everything about his life,’ Steven said. ‘I feel sorry for those poor bastards. But then we didn’t ask to have a tyrant for a governor.’

‘Cutting each other up while Kalen laughs,’ Magnus growled. ‘I swear I’m never going to answer to another governor for the rest of my life.’

‘That’s the spirit!’ Steven said, slapping him on the back. ‘Every time I think you can’t get more radical you surprise me.’

‘I don’t know what I’m talking about,’ Magnus said, shaking his head. ‘Has Julia seen you’re safe?’

‘She has. She left when they started stitching me up. We Waxmen don’t like to watch each other bleed, it seems.’

Magnus winced. ‘No.’ His mind felt sluggish, but there was something niggling him like it needed to be said. He tracked back slowly through the last long day and night. It felt like he hadn’t had the chance to talk to either Julia or Steven since…

‘Steven,’ he said, ‘Julia and I…I love her.’

‘I know,’ Steven said.

‘Wait, _how_?’ Magnus said.

‘She said so when she was negotiating with that woman who’d grabbed Meg. Also, well, I have eyes.’

‘Oh.’ Magnus ducked his head. ‘I guess we were the last two to figure it out.’

‘It’s always the way,’ Steven said, grinning. ‘By the way, something else I wanted to talk to you about. It’s good to plan for the future even if you’re not sure you’ll live to see tomorrow. Take a look.’

He reached into the inside of his pocket and produced a book of papers, unfolding two documents from inside it and handing them to Magnus. The first was a certificate declaring him a fully trained craftsman, the second a letter of application to the showcase.

‘Picked these up the same evening they tried to arrest you,’ Steven said. ‘We’ll just sign that – ’ he tapped the certificate – ‘then I’ll get it ratified by the head of the Guild and you’ll be eligible to enter the showcase. Time for the world to see what you can do.’

‘I – ’ Magnus said. ‘Steven, thank you. For your training. For everything.’

‘It’s past time you were made craftsman,’ Steven said. ‘Guess I just wanted to hang onto you a little longer.’

‘I didn’t want to leave,’ Magnus said. ‘You feel like my family.’

‘We are,’ Steven said.

‘I’ll stay as long as you’ll have me,’ Magnus said. ‘What do I care about setting up shop for myself?’

‘Now Magnus, only a fool stays on in his master’s shop once his apprenticeship’s done, if the master has a capable child to inherit. Unless he’s planning to marry that child, of course.’

‘Steven!’ Magnus protested.

‘You’re right, it’s none of my business,’ Steven said. ‘I think Ben Hastings is trying to catch your eye.’

‘Ugh,’ Magnus groaned, letting his head fall forward.

‘You got a quarrel with him? He had some hard words for you the day you thumped old Kalen.’

‘I deserved them,’ Magnus said. ‘I’d better see what he wants. It’s always important.’

He got up and strode over to Ben, who was standing over a basin of water, scrubbing blood off his hands.

‘I hope that’s all the wounded accounted for,’ he said. ‘We’ll have a job to gather the dead in this. The rain’s setting in for the night out there. You were dead on about the weather: all thawed.’

‘You hurt?’ Magnus asked.

‘Not a scratch,’ Ben said. Magnus frowned. It had looked like Ben wanted to talk to him, but now he seemed to have nothing to say.

‘What do you reckon Kalen’s lot’ll do next?’ Magnus probed.

‘Gods know. I should think the rain’ll hold them while it lasts, at any rate.’

‘And after that?’

‘Well, it depends on whether Kalen can afford any fresh soldiers. Could be he’ll give up if not. But we didn’t win a decisive victory, I’d say. And that was probably our last chance to put a real dent in them.’

‘We’ll find other chances if we need to,’ Magnus said. ‘And we put enough of a dent in them for me. Don’t let it get too bloody, we agreed.’

‘We could have finished them off today,’ Ben said. ‘All packed together in front of our archers.’

‘I won’t order a massacre,’ Magnus said. ‘I don’t care what it costs us. I won’t do it.’

‘May the gods bless you, Magnus,’ Ben said suddenly.

‘And you as well,’ Magnus said automatically, blinking in surprise.

‘Sit with me a while,’ Ben said. He snagged one of the wine skins that was being passed around and settled in a quiet corner, his back to the wall. Magnus sat down beside him.

‘I know it doesn’t feel like it right now,’ Ben said, ‘but we’re actually living in peaceful times. When I was your age there was a new skirmish every six months.’

‘We’d be in even more trouble than we are now if it wasn’t for your experience,’ Magnus said.

‘Aye.’ Ben took a pull on the wine skin. ‘You know the crazy thing? I can’t even remember what half those battles were about. Valuables, land…gods know.’

‘Well…’ Magnus hunted about for something comforting to say. He wasn’t even sure if _comforting_ was what was required. ‘You’re fighting for something worthwhile this time.’

‘Hmph.’ Ben said. ‘You know everyone’s going to want a piece of you after this, Magnus? The magistrate, the militia, maybe even Neverwinter.’

‘Really?’

‘Sure. They know a winner when they see one.’ Ben took another slug of wine and passed the skin. ‘You want my advice? Ignore it. War makes murderers; politics makes liars. Go back to your workshop. Marry your girl. Put all this behind you.’

‘I intend to,’ Magnus said.

‘Good,’ Ben said. ‘You’re a wise man in your way, Burnsides. I’ll leave you to better company.’ He jerked his head to the side; Magnus looked where he indicated and saw Julia coming towards them. When he looked back Ben was already on his feet, walking away.

‘You saw Steven, right?’ Magnus said to Julia.

‘Yes,’ Julia said. ‘He was hurt…’

‘I’m sure he’ll be fine – ’

Julia shook her head. ‘Just hold me,’ she said. ‘Please.’

Magnus fell silent and wrapped his arms around her, squeezing tightly, letting her head rest on his chest. After a long minute she looked up, in control again.

‘I could sleep for a week,’ she said, yawning hugely. ‘Damn, all I did was stand under the wall for half an hour and shoot twice.’

People around them were starting to bed down on the floor of the hall. Nobody seemed to want to break up the half carnival, half funeral atmosphere. Magnus knew how they felt.

‘Think I’ll sleep here,’ he said. ‘It’ll get to me if I lie down in a room by myself.’

‘Me too,’ Julia said. ‘Nobody can gossip about us sleeping together if we do it in front of the entire town.’

They settled down on a bedroll together, drowsing or sleeping soldiers lying close on either side. The torches were being doused, and a fire was burning warm and low at the end of the hall. Magnus felt drowsiness start to creep over him. In a soft bed the horrors of the day would have started to seem unreal and nightmarish; here they were part of the same general discomfort as the wooden floor and the occasional thump of boots around them. Julia arranged Magnus with his head pillowed on her shoulder. He closed his eyes and let himself be comforted.

‘Did you Father about our plans for spring?’ Julia asked. Magnus shook his head.

‘He mentioned marriage and I got all indignant,’ he said. ‘I mean…he was pointing out the “advantages”.’

‘You’re so noble,’ Julia said. ‘He’ll be pleased as punch, I bet. He’s always been fed up that he couldn’t make it worth your while to stay and do right by me at the same time.’

‘We’re going to make it big enough to keep all three of us,’ Magnus said. ‘And so many dogs.’

‘You’re unstoppable,’ Julia said fondly, pulling her fingers through his hair.

‘You wait. Once we get rid of Kalen, we’re going to have someone who knows how to run things so we all prosper,’ Magnus said.

‘And how are you going to manage that?’ Julia asked.

‘Ask me when I’m more awake,’ Magnus mumbled, and fell asleep.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'It's what I want...but it's not what Julia would want.' I just had to give her that moment to choose. I'm not crying you're crying.


	9. The Parley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've enjoyed this fic, do please consider leaving a comment!

The weather stayed miserable for the next three days. The enemy camp was invisible, blotted out by sheets of freezing rain. The clouds came down almost to the city rooftops. The plain in front of the gates was a sea of mud.

Magnus and Julia spent the first day fretting indoors. They knew they should be recovering after the battle, but they were both too tense to rest, or even to enjoy the chance to spend time together. They didn’t know whether they’d done enough damage to force Kalen to give up, or whether the Lord of Neverwinter would take revenge as soon as the rain let up. And even if he hadn’t been so worried, the weather would have made Magnus miserable. He hated being cooped up. The clouds were so thick that it was twilight all day.

The next day Steven came stomping out of his study and bullied them down into the workshop.

‘I thought a day off might do you good,’ he said, ‘but if you’re only going to mope I’ll put you to work. When’s the last time you touched that cherry-wood table, Magnus? Get to it! And Julia, start on those chairs, if the militia’ve left us a stick of wood to work with.’

‘I’ll work on chairs when I know there’s a chance anyone’s going to live to sit in them, not before!’ Julia shouted, bursting into tears. ‘Leave me alone!’

Steven let her shout until the worst of what they were all afraid of had been said, then quietly repeated his instruction that they get to work and left. There was a lot less tension coming off Julia now, and Magnus felt calmer too, even though he hadn’t done any shouting himself.

‘Sorry about that,’ Julia said as they set up their workbenches.

‘We were all thinking it,’ Magnus said. ‘But Steven’s right. We’ve got to act like everything’s normal even if it isn’t. And I know you don’t like carving for its own sake, but I do. Hand me some sandpaper?’

‘At least we know nobody’s going to come climbing up the cliffs in this weather,’ Julia said, passing it over. ‘They’d get washed straight back down again, like the incy-wincy spider.’

Magnus managed a proper laugh at that.

‘Father’s just as strung up as us,’ Julia said. ‘He’s given us his instructions all wrong. The chairs were supposed to be original; I can’t start building them till you’ve designed them. Most I can do is dress the wood for you.’

‘Never mind, as long as we’re keeping busy,’ Magnus said. He pulled drafting paper and pencils within arm’s reach, so that he could switch between sketching and working on his table. He started to draw the basic lines for a chair, glancing often at Julia while he worked. He wondered what the furniture in their new room would be like, and how long it would take before he had time to start building them things himself. He gave his sketch arms and a high back: the shape Julia found most comfortable. He imagined her sitting at her ease in the little warm room they would share, stringing her mandolin, checking the accounts, rocking a baby. He added rockers to his sketch and went back over what he’d already done, altering the design to make it a rocking chair. He couldn’t remotely claim to be working on the order any more. Black oak, a wood he could afford, but still good and sturdy. A beautiful stain and finish, to show off his skill in displaying the wood. Magnus spent the rest of the day peacefully working on his design for the craftsmen’s showcase.

The day after that the rain turned to big, feathery flakes of snow, which looked pretty in the air even if they only turned to yet more water on the ground, and Magnus went visiting. He asked everybody he met what terms they should ask for if they ever got to negotiate with Neverwinter, and what sort of governor they hoped for after Kalen. Most people seemed to find the question positively quaint. It puzzled Magnus. It was as though they’d lost hope without losing the slightest bit of morale.

‘What sort of governor?’ one man said to him. ‘I don’t know; they’re all alike. We stood up to ’em, and that’s the main thing. That battle! By the gods, we made them think again!’

Finally the rain stopped. The sky was still grey, but the clouds were higher and brighter. The guards on the city walls could see out over the plain again. Pitched in front of the city, much closer than the enemy soldiers’ camp, was a new tent. It was flying the flag of the Lord of Neverwinter.

‘That means this is out of Kalen’s hands now, whatever else happens,’ the magistrate said to Magnus when he came to the town hall to discuss what to do. ‘The Lord gave him some Neverwinter soldiers and some time to fix things, and he’s failed. That’s some satisfaction, anyway.’

‘Should we go down and negotiate or something?’ Magnus asked.

‘Absolutely. Why do you think they’re camped out right in the middle of the field like that? They’re inviting us to parley.’ The magistrate sighed. ‘You and me had better go.’

‘Really? You think that’s safe?’ Magnus asked.

‘Oh yes. They’ll stick to the customs of war, I think. But we’ll take some soldiers anyway.’

They chose Parry, Sal and two others, and left the captain of the militia in charge of the city, with Julia and Ben to back him up. Then guards hauled open the heavy city gates, and Magnus and the magistrate walked out to parley.

Magnus took a deep breath. It felt good to be out in the fresh air, stretching his legs on the quarter-mile walk to the tent. The whole situation felt deeply surreal, as though he was walking back to a tent on a summer camping trip, not about to bargain for the fate of his city.

As they approached the white tent with its fluttering banner, two guards came to meet them.

‘Hail and well met!’ the magistrate said to them. ‘I am the magistrate of Raven’s Roost, and this is Magnus Burnsides, our people’s chosen leader.’

‘Are you here to talk terms?’ one of the guards asked, eyeing them over.

‘We’re here to greet our new visitor,’ Magnus said, nodding towards the tent. ‘Hopefully they’ll tell us what they’ve come to see us about.’

The guard didn’t say anything to that, just walked to the tent flap and pulled it open, bowing to indicate that they should go inside. Sal and their other guards stepped aside to wait.

Magnus stepped into the tent with the magistrate behind him. There was a brazier full of coals in the middle, giving out a glow of heat. There was a lot of silk and velvet, and glossy furs on the chairs. The white fabric of the walls let in quite a lot of light. Sitting in the corner with a book in her hand was a middle-aged woman, with long greying hair swept back from her face in a knot. Her eyes were bright and intelligent. She exuded elegance. As they walked into the tent she put down her book and stood up.

‘Good morning,’ she said, ‘and welcome – if it’s my place to welcome you, when we’re so much closer to your home than to mine. Magnus Burnsides! So you’re the one who’s been causing so much fuss.’

‘That’s me,’ Magnus said shortly. He felt alarmed without quite knowing why. He’d thought the magistrate was polished and clever, but this woman seemed to have about eight different layers of meaning in her face at once. The richness of the tent was suddenly oppressive.

‘Do you know who I am?’ the woman asked.

‘You’re the lord of Neverwinter,’ Magnus said.

The magistrate winced.

‘No,’ the woman said. ‘My name is Lilliana Rockwell, and I am a senior secretary to his lordship.’

‘Oh,’ Magnus floundered. While his mind berated itself over the enormity of his mistake, his mouth just kept moving. ‘So you, uh, take notes and organise stuff?’

‘I take notes, yes. On…the state of the realm, and things like that.’

‘Right.’ Magnus snapped his mouth shut.

‘Will you take some tea with me?’ Rockwell said. ‘And then we can discuss the best way to resolve this messy business.’

She waved them into chairs in front of the brazier, and a servant put a brightly polished kettle on the coals, and set a folding table with china cups. Magnus ignored Rockwell’s small talk and the magistrate’s attempts to match her; he supposed they’d come to the point when she was done trying to impress them both. He looked around the tent instead. Everything inside was elaborate and beautiful. The tea table was particularly interesting. It was decorated with inlaying in differently coloured woods. He loved doing that kind of work, but rarely got the chance. The carving around the edge caught his eye too; it reminded him of pine needles rather than the more traditional flowers and leaves.

‘Is the tea to your taste, Mr Burnsides?’ Rockwell asked, interrupting his thoughts.

‘It’s fine,’ Magnus said. ‘I’m just not feeling very comfortable. We’re on opposite sides of a rebellion, after all.’

Rockwell smiled into her teacup. ‘Very well,’ she said. ‘I can see that you’re eager to get down to business. I admire practical men. Let’s discuss this rebellion. Your city has seen fit to revolt against Kalen, the governor appointed to you by the Lord of Neverwinter.’

‘You know why,’ Magnus said. ‘He taxed us more than we could afford, and he ignored our laws. He tried to have people beaten, imprisoned and killed without trial.’

‘We do know,’ Rockwell said. ‘Magistrate, Mr Burnsides, let’s be frank with each other. It will come as no surprise to you that the Lord’s whole court is angry with Kalen. Raven’s Roost has only got poorer and more costly to run since he took office. He’s the first governor in years to manage to provoke open rebellion. But still, he’s Neverwinter’s man. And there are other problems too. You’ve killed Neverwinter soldiers and stolen Neverwinter gear. That’s hard to forgive.’

‘All the same,’ the magistrate said, ‘if you had no intention of forgiving it, I doubt you would be wasting your time on a parley. Raven’s Roost is poorer now than when Kalen took office, you say. It’ll be poorer still after you’ve done everything you’d have to do to take us by force. And the survivors’ll never let themselves be governed quietly again.’

‘Just so,’ Rockwell said. ‘An empty shell full of angry paupers. Only a fool expects praise for reporting that he’s sacked a city.’

There was a long silence while she calmly poured the magistrate more tea.

‘I must say, Magistrate, you’ve been very politic,’ she said. ‘You’ve made it clear all along that your quarrel was with Kalen, not with Neverwinter, and you’ve avoided damaging our forces to the point where we’re honour-bound to take revenge on you. I think we can end this dispute to everybody’s satisfaction.’

She took a thoughtful sip of tea and continued.

‘Kalen will be removed from office immediately,’ she said. ‘It’s no less than he deserves after failing so spectacularly to keep peace in his province. Sending his soldiers into ambush twice over! You will agree to demobilise your armed civilians, swear in a new governor, and resume peaceful relations with Neverwinter, and we’ll raise the siege on your city immediately. You’ll be back on your feet in no time.’

‘Not a new governor,’ Magnus said. ‘We want a council. Like Goldcliff.’

The magistrate’s expression wavered for just a moment before she hauled it back to neutral. Magnus hadn’t breathed a word about this to her. Rockwell gave Magnus a long, cool stare, but he thought he could see her gears working behind the calm face.

‘Goldcliff is almost the richest city in Faerun,’ Rockwell said. ‘It’s also very densely populated, and uniquely situated – ’

‘Raven’s Roost was rich too, before Kalen,’ Magnus said. ‘We train the finest craftspeople in the world. This tea table? I recognise the decoration. It’s either a typical Raven’s Roost motif, or an imitation of one. Same technique on the joints, too. I came here to train in carpentry because I knew there was nowhere better. And we’re unique as well. We live on top of pillars that we have to maintain! We get cut off by snow three months of the year. Nobody knows how to govern us better than us.’

‘Every township believes itself to be unique,’ Rockwell said, ‘but the fact is – ’

‘The fact is,’ Magnus overrode her, ‘that if you tell Raven’s Roost you’re removing Kalen, they’ll stop fighting and sit back and see who you give them next. And then we roll the dice. Maybe you give us someone great. Maybe you give us Kalen’s cousin or his aunt and they take revenge on us and our money carries on flowing right into Kalen’s pocket. Maybe you just give us another selfish bully. But whoever you give us, once we’ve stopped fighting, we won’t start again. Not in my lifetime. It’ll all have been for nothing.

‘So you give us the right to form our own council, or we will keep right on fighting you. We won’t send Neverwinter any goods or any taxes, we’ll repel any soldier who tries to enter the city, and at the end you can tell the Lord of Neverwinter why there’s nothing left but that shell of a city you said wasn’t worth having.’

Magnus and Rockwell stared into each other’s eyes. For the first time, Magnus could tell what she was really feeling. She was furious. And she was also on the back foot. Up until now she’d known exactly what to say. She’d been delivering the offer of peace that the Lord of Neverwinter had given her. Now Magnus had gone off-script.

‘Do you really think you’re in any position to bargain?’ she said at last. ‘You haven’t seen one hundredth of the soldiers we’ve got at our disposal. If we wanted to storm your city, believe me, we’d storm it.’

‘Bring as many soldiers as you want; they can still only come at us six at a time,’ Magnus said. ‘That’s the width of our only gate. Kalen’s spies figured out how to climb the cliffs in a few places, but you’ll lose soldiers hand over fist like that, sending them up one at a time. Reckon we could hold you off for a few months yet.’

‘So it’s too much trouble to take the city,’ Rockwell said. ‘All we have to do is wait. Your people will get hungry eventually, Burnsides.’

‘You won’t get resupplied much easier than us once the snow sets in for real,’ Magnus said. ‘It’ll be dangerous and expensive. And cold. Go on, tell your soldiers that they have to spend a mountain winter in tents just because one little city wants a council.’

Rockwell glared. ‘I can’t restructure your whole government on the spot,’ she snapped. ‘You’ll need a charter from the Lord himself.’

‘But he wouldn’t have sent you here to negotiate without giving you some sort of executive power,’ the magistrate said.

‘I can write you a temporary order,’ Rockwell said resignedly.

‘And how does that hold up legally?’ Magnus asked.

‘Once an order like that is signed, Neverwinter can’t change it without good reason,’ the magistrate told him.  ‘And she’ll be honour-bound to defend what she’s signed as well.’

‘Scribe!’ Rockwell shouted. She wasn’t glaring, but Magnus could tell she would like to be. Another Neverwinter official came hurrying into the tent. Rockwell told him brusquely what she wanted, and the scribe set about writing up the order on a thick sheet of vellum. He seemed to know the wording by heart. Watching him work, Magnus remembered the magistrate recording the payment of his fine. He’d thought that her handwriting was good and the ledger was handsome, but this scribe’s writing bordered on art.

‘Put your promise down in writing as well,’ Magnus said. ‘That you’ll argue in favour of this at court and try and get it made legal.’

‘Very well; very well!’ Rockwell sighed, and dictated a long oath to the scribe, with a lot of flowery words. She signed the charter and the oath with a quick angry jab of the pen, and then had Magnus and the magistrate witness it. Magnus wasn’t used to working with ink, and blotted the parchment.

‘I can draw really well in pencil,’ he said to Rockwell.

‘I’m sure you can,’ she said coldly. ‘Right. Goldcliff’s council consists of twelve representatives and a Chair, elected by the city’s heads of household, a household being defined as a group of kin owning property to the value of three hundred gold. Master Craftsmen and soldiers of the rank of Captain or higher may also cast a vote. You’ll need to conduct a census to establish who in your city is eligible. You’ll need to modify the voting system and structure of the council to meet your city’s _unique_ needs, and decide how the council is going to make law, levy taxes, and everything else.’ She paused, scowling between Magnus and the magistrate. ‘I hope you realise exactly how much lawmaking is going to be involved in this.’

‘We’ll need advisors, certainly,’ the magistrate said. ‘I’m sure the Lord has lawyers to assist when a city needs to rearrange its relationship to Neverwinter. And somebody from Goldcliff too, if possible.’

‘I’ll see to it,’ Rockwell said. ‘Do what you can over the winter, and we’ll send someone to you come spring.’  

‘And we need resupplying,’ Magnus said. ‘The last caravan didn’t make it to us.’

‘I’m afraid that can’t be arranged,’ Rockwell said. ‘The snow is already too heavy.’

‘If that’s so, then how are you planning to march your own army out of here?’ Magnus demanded.

‘With difficulty,’ Rockwell said. ‘It’s one of the reasons I’m willing to accept your terms. I’ve lifted the ban Kalen put on trading. I can’t do any more.’

‘Can’t, or won’t?’ Magnus said furiously.

‘The advisors you asked for will be sent to you after the spring thaw,’ Rockwell said. ‘And now I must wish you goodbye.’

Her guards must have been listening outside. As soon as she spoke, one of them appeared at the entrance to the tent, holding the flap aside for them. Magnus glanced at the magistrate; she shook her head minutely, indicating that it was pointless to argue, and stepped outside. Magnus followed her, and they formed up with their own militia and walked back towards the city.

‘We overheard most of it,’ Sal said. ‘So they’re leaving us be? Let me see that order.’ She looked over the handsome parchment and whistled.

‘Leaving us alone, hoping the winter’ll do their dirty work for them,’ Magnus said. ‘This is because of the council, isn’t it?’

‘Of course,’ the magistrate said. ‘She was ready to thank us kindly for giving them the excuse to get rid of Kalen, but demanding to govern ourselves is another matter entirely. What were you thinking?’

Magnus shrugged. ‘I’ve talked it over with a lot of the townsfolk these last few days,’ he said. ‘We were all pretty much agreed, no more governors. Our last case might be worse than our first.’

‘And why didn’t you tell me?’ the magistrate demanded.

‘Because I knew you wouldn’t like it. You’re cautious.’

‘I am that,’ the magistrate agreed. ‘I’ll also have a lot less power if we really do get this council up and running. You don’t trust me.’

‘Of course I do!’ Magnus exclaimed. Sal looked between the two of them and gave a hearty laugh. The magistrate looked disbelieving. ‘We’re friends,’ Magnus went on. ‘Come on, aren’t we?’ The magistrate made an exasperated noise, but she couldn’t hide her smile.

‘You’ve led us well,’ Sal said to her. ‘We wouldn’t have done it without you.’

‘I think you would,’ the magistrate said. ‘Julia was right all along about how to play it. You and Magnus and Ben Hastings had all the good strategy ideas. Oh well, maybe I can finally retire in peace. It’ll be better than trying to hold things together under Kalen, anyway.’

People waylaid them as soon as they reached the gates, shouting for news, but Magnus kept quiet until they’d called a meeting in the hall of everyone who would fit. He, the magistrate, the captain of the militia, Ben, Sal, Steven and Julia sat in a semicircle at the front of the hall. He guessed it was already a kind of council.

‘The bad news is that we’re not getting resupplied until spring,’ he said, addressing the assembly. ‘The good news is that Kalen’s gone for good. The Lord of Neverwinter’s secretary is taking the army away. And she’s granted our demand to have a council instead of a new governor. She doesn’t think we’ll stick out the winter and still be making demands by spring, but we will.’

The crowd’s reaction surprised him. They didn’t get angry or cheer wildly; instead they applauded, hard but solemnly. As soon as his speech was over they started forming clusters and talking. He overheard people working out plans for hunting and foraging in the forest; for how to conduct the census; for how the council should govern. The people who knew most or had the best ideas were being singled out. They almost didn’t seem to need him anymore. He was glad about it. He remembered Ben’s advice. He was going back to his shop.

*     *     *

It was a long, hard winter. The militia carefully doled out supplies from the stores that had been left one delivery short. There was food and fire every day, but nobody’s belly was ever full. People became less cooperative and more short-tempered than they had been in the heat of the rebellion. Magnus, Julia and Steven went out every day, showed their faces, talked to people. Magnus’ conversations always began with people telling him their hardships and ended with them saying that it wasn’t so bad, it had all been worth it, they would freeze in an iced-over bed if it meant spitting in that bastard Kalen’s eye. There was no run on the supplies. The town’s nerve held.

It was always cold, with firewood being so carefully rationed, but that meant that Magnus and Julia could spend a lot of time sitting under the same blanket, curled together for warmth. There were next to no orders coming into the workshop, but that meant all the more time for them to talk and plan and dream together. During the short daylight hours Magnus kept warm working on their wedding gazebo while Julia played him music, breaking off to help cut and shape the wood whenever she got too cold. Whenever he looked at her, Magnus’ empty stomach filled up with butterflies.

After Candlenights an icy fog set in, bringing sickness with it: fever and a racking cough. For a few days they were terrified that half the city would get sick. Steven said it had happened before, when he was their age. But the numbers stayed manageable. The magistrate set up a hospital in the town hall and the healers worked for free. One evening Julia had a temperature. They couldn’t build up the fire to warm her, so she spent the night in Magnus’ arms under five sweltering layers of blankets, and in the morning she was cool and lucid again.

The hardest day was when they buried the dead, laying them in graves cut into the snow until the thaw set in and they could be permanently buried. Magnus had barely had a minute to think of Phillip in all the fighting, but now it came back sharply. The magistrate had him laid a little apart from everyone else, with a special headstone calling him the first to die for the city’s freedom. Magnus wasn’t quite happy with that, though he couldn’t say why. Maybe because Phillip had never known about the revolution. Maybe because he just wished Phillip was alive again.

‘It’ll be worth it when spring comes,’ Steven said, as they tried to have a wake on half a pint of cider apiece. ‘Then we’ll get to building something better.’

The snow had barely started to melt, sliding off the pine trees and revealing splashes of deep green, when Julia’s mother’s caravan arrived, weeks earlier than expected. Julia’s mother burst into tears of relief when she found that Julia and Steven were safe, and immediately sat them down to the heartiest meal they’d eaten in months. She alternated between congratulating Julia on finding such a fine husband and daring Magnus to ever cause this kind of trouble again, until he was so flustered he could hardly speak.

The traders knew the story of the rebellion. It hadn’t quite moved them to victual an entire town for free, but it had moved them to travel the treacherous road up to Raven’s Roost the moment it became passable. And now at last getting rid of Kalen started to pay off. No taxes had gone out of the city since before the harvest festival, and the people had money to burn. They emptied the traders’ waggons down to the boards. There were temple bells ringing and people singing in the streets. Life came back to Raven’s Roost in a great, gasping rush.

Suddenly the wedding wasn’t happening _when spring comes_. It was happening in a fortnight, in a week. The magistrate had offered Magnus and Julia a state function, which they had politely declined, but it seemed like half the town was going to be coming anyway. They were bombarded by offers of help; people wanted to sing for them, cook for them, deck them in flowers and finery. Magnus and Julia accepted most of the offers. They were flustered by the attention, but both of them loved the idea of throwing the biggest party they could.

The ceremony took place exactly as Magnus had promised. It was the first really mild day that spring, and neither of them was cold. The sweet cake they broke between them was golden with butter. It seemed surprising that neither of them thought even fleetingly of Kalen, but what they had won seemed so much important than what they had gone through to get it. The watching guests felt the same, watching Magnus’ hands shake as he took Julia’s; seeing how Julia could hardly look into his face as he slipped the gold ring onto her finger. They’d won, and the city was safe, and neither of them had to worry about a single thing except each other.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I've been working on this fic for four months and I can't believe it's finally ready to post! I welcome all feedback, criticism included.


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